


Foreign Relations

by ghanimajade



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Action/Adventure, Eventual Romance, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2018-12-06 00:00:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 46
Words: 358,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11588862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghanimajade/pseuds/ghanimajade
Summary: A four part AU series beginning in 2181, 2 years before the events of Mass Effect. Siddalee Shepard (Spacer, Adept, War Hero) is the an Alliance hero and legend. In an effort to better Turian and Human relations she is selected for a one year assignment on the Turian Warship Lante under the command of the legendary General Adrien Victus.





	1. The Assignment

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the Star Trek: TNG episode 'A Matter of Honor' where Riker is traded to a Klingon ship to serve as first officer. There are four parts to this story and in the interest of ease I'm posting it all in one rather than four separate like it is on fanfiction.net. There are lots, and I mean lots, of Original Characters and tweaked back stories. I've also changed missions and events. Parts 1 and 2 are completed and 3 and 4 are in progress. 
> 
> Part One: The Assignment  
> Chapters 1-17
> 
> Part Two: Chasing Saren  
> Chapters 18-34
> 
> Part Three: Resurrection  
> Chapters 35- in progress

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Part One: The Assignment  
Chapter One: The Assignment

Cdr. Siddalee Shepard sat on the Alliance transport as it made its way to the Turian Warship _Lante_. The Alliance had practically twisted the arm of the Turian Councilor Sparatus to get them to take on an Alliance Officer to help relations between their species. The Turians agreed and there was really only one person in Anderson’s mind to take on the responsibility, or the one person who could survive the hornets nest that was about to be stirred up, Cdr. Siddalee Shepard. Sidda, as she was called for short, had the Alliance in her blood, both of her parents were career Alliance and she didn’t set foot on Earth until she was 15 years old. Living on starships as her parents went from assignment to assignment wasn’t easy but it was a life she would never give up. She had an appreciation of other species’ that was beyond compare. Enlisting in the Alliance was the next logical step for her and she excelled as an officer, a natural leader with a strong survival instinct. Sidda’s major claim to fame, so to speak, was the Skyllian Blitz. She was in the right place at the right time and became the Hero of Elysium, repelling an overwhelming attack by Batarians bent on taking control of the colonies capital.

She looked out the window to the powerful Turian ship and couldn’t help but feel a little nervous, why did Anderson send her on this mission? She was now temporarily assigned to The _Lante_. All she could think of was Anderson’s advice before she left for Turian space. “Better bring you’re A-Game.”

She boarded the ship and was met by two Turian guards. Compared to the Turians Sidda was a shrimp, she was about 5’6”, fit, with long brown hair twisted up into a bun. Her eyes were a light brown that were green in different lighting. She carried herself with confidence, knowing she could handle just about anything thrown at her. She was a biotic and a powerful on at that. “Cdr. Shepard, welcome aboard the _Lante_. Gen. Victus wants to see you in the CIC.” The soldier said to her and she looked him up and down to size him up. “If you leave your duffles here my men will take them to your quarters.” She nodded dropping the duffle over her shoulder then followed them to the CIC. She’d never seen so many Turians eye her as she walked by.

 _“This is going to be a long assignment.”_ She thought to herself as she walked behind him. Sidda had been on many frigates in her life, both in the military and growing up around it and the _Lante_ was the biggest one she’d been on. It was bigger than any Alliance frigate and according to her couple months of study preparing for this assignment she was the biggest one still active in the Turian fleet. The floors were polished grey and the halls were tall, it seemed strangely odd though, it didn’t seem quite proportioned. As she passed Turians in the hall she got several strange looks, it wasn’t every day that a human strutted around a Turian military vessel so she let the looks go.

**

Her escort led her to the CIC where a tall Turian stood by the galaxy map. His skin tone was darker than the rest but the colony marking made his face almost completely white, this was the same marking the Turian Councilor had. He looked over at her and turned to give her his full attention. “Cdr. Shepard.” He began looking her up and down. “Welcome to the _Lante_. I am Gen. Adrien Victus.”

Sidda nodded to him respectfully. “Cdr. Siddalee Shepard.” She introduced. “It’s a pleasure to be here, General.” She said her tone quiet and respectful but not timid. Her training was hard to break and she sized up the room. It was an odd looking CIC quite different from that of the _Agincourt_ and the _Iwo Jima_ , the two frigates she’d spent time on. Its design was off but she wasn’t here to critique ship design, she’d get to know the ship in time. Victus was a name that she’d heard of in her crash course of the Turian military; he was a much respected general, served in the First Contact War and was apparently a legend among the Turian Military.

He returned her nod looking her up and down. Human’s always looked so frail, they were smaller, heavier than Turians and the female of the species seemed weaker. Not that the males of the human species seemed stronger compared to a Turian but their women didn’t have the heir of inherent danger. He’d read the file that was forwarded to him by the Turian Councilor. Just as a military mind she was magnificent, he would have to judge who she was but her actions, not her file. But he couldn’t help but be impressed by the strong tactical mind embodied in a highly skilled Biotic. “You have an impressive file, Commander.” He stated, noting noticable scars under her left eye and down her right temple. “Your actions on Elysium…excellent work.”

Sidda gave a nod but said nothing surveying more of her surroundings, she saw another Turian with blue markings on his face, and his colony markings were more subtle than Victus’ well defined white. Her silence wasn’t counted as negative toward her and Victus appreciated it, she didn’t know it was he was judging her character seeing if she would live up to the hype around her reputation.

“Commander, this is my first officer Maj. Damar Maridus.” Victus introduced and the Turian with blue marking, obviously named Maridus, looked her up and down.  
He extended his hand to her. “A pleasure to meet you, Commander.” He said. “I’ve always wanted to meet the Hero of Elysium.” Maridus was the same height as Victus but had a much darker face and green eyes, the face paint was a dark blue swath that went from one side of his face to the other but the color wasn’t lost in the dark complexion.

She shook his hand and nodded to him, she was already tired of hearing that phrase but since it was really her only military feat she’d take it if the Turians respected her for it. “A pleasure, Major.”

“Major, if you please, show the Commander around.” Victus said he’d seen all he wanted to right now. Her actions would have to speak to her character from here on out, so far he had no opinion. He wasn’t overly comfortable with this arrangement, having a human onboard opened his ship with to untold amounts of trouble given the hostilities that still lingered between Humans and Turians.

Maridus nodded. “Yes, Sir.” He said and gestured for her to follow him.

**

Sidda was trying not to show the nerves about a mission such as this. Being the first human to have a year long assignment to a, until recently, hostile species’ ship was a big deal. “What, umm…what kind of ship is this, Major?” she asked and he glanced down at her as they walked down the corridor. Maridus was, in a word, enormous; easily coming in at 6’6” he was a foot taller than she was. Human men could get that tall but for the most part averaged 6 foot. That she was used to, but a Turian…the sheer height of them was intimidating.

“The _Lante_ is a Verck class frigate, has a crew compliment of 130, top of the line firepower, specializing in fast attack missions.” He stated and she nodded, she was trying to feel out the crews feelings about this assignment, the best person to guage that from was the first officer.

“ _Lante_ …what does that mean?” she asked and Maridus could appreciate her trying to understand the ship.

Maridus spared another glance down to her before answering her. “T’alla Lante was a General during the Krogan Rebellions, she defended a colony against a Krogan assault with a single frigate.” He explained and she gave him an appreciative nod. The silence was a little awkward as she was trying to figure out how to talk to him. Turians and Human were very different but she wasn’t quite sure how different. She wondered if talking too much or asking too much at once would be irritating.

Sidda decided to be blunt and speak her mind. “What do you think about this assignment, Major?” she asked and he tapped a door control to the lift then turned to look at her.

Maridus sighed but it wasn’t one irritation, just thought. “Commander, this is a mission that should have happened years ago.” He answered honestly and could see the surprise on her face. “If there is one thing the First Contact War, as your people call it, taught us was that our people were never meant to be enemies. We’re too much alike. We don’t give up. Your people fought us to a standstill and it’s a very good thing that the Council stepped in when they did.”

The lift door opened and he stepped in letting that sink in for her. She stepped onto the lift standing next to him and clasped both hands behind her back. “I have a feeling I’m gonna like you, Major.” She commented and the tall Turian gave a small chuckle.

Her tour of the ship was pretty straight forward and he brought her to what he called a training room, Maridus had explained some of the finer points that she needed to know while being onboard, shift rotations, mess times, the rest he told her would be in an orientation after she was settled in. Then she would learn emergency procedures, escape pod locations, pay a visit to the doctor, etc. The training room had a few things in it that she could relate to, a few Turian versions or punching bags, maybe a few strength training pieces and a large open mat. When she came in with Maridus there were two Turians on the mat looking that they were beginning to spar. They were both tall but had different markings, one had noticeable purple markings on his chin and from his forehead and running back the center crest, a diagonal slash over each eye, and more purple from his cheekbones back to his ears, he had a broad build and was Maridus’ height, the other one was a little taller with a striking bright red mask for colony markings.

They forgot about what they were doing when they noticed her with Maridus. The one with the red face cocked his head slightly looking her up and down then looked to the other and they both looked at Maridus.

“Cerrus, Nov, this is Cdr. Shepard, Alliance Navy.” Maridus introduced in as succinct a manner as possible. “Commander, this is Capt. Cerrus and Lt. Nov, they lead the two ground teams aboard the _Lante_.”

Sidda observed them, and thought about extending her hand to the two of them but the vibe from them wasn’t as open as Victus and Maridus’ was in the CIC. The two Turians look at each other with the same uncomfortable expression that transcended species’.

The silence was awkward but it was broken by the one with the red markings, Nov. “Welcome aboard, Commander.” He said with a sharp nod that wasn’t necessarily friendly, it was more of an obligation. The other one, Cerrus, said nothing to her and had an obvious sneer on his face.

“Thank you.” She replied with a sharp nod, the uncomfortable silence that followed was enough for Maridus and gestured for her to leave with him.

“Come with me, Commander, I’ll show you to your quarters.” He offered ushering her to the door leaving the two Turians to return to what they had been doing prior to her arrival.

**

Maridus stepped onto the CIC and quietly made his way over to Victus. Everyone had their concerns about this arrangement and they were well founded. Having a human onboard surrounded by Turians was a fight waiting to happen.

“Is the Commander settled in?” Victus asked knowing he was approaching him as he studied the data pad before him.

“Yes, Sir.” Maridus replied standing next to him. There was a lingering silence from Maridus and Victus found that odd. Usually when he was quiet like this there was something on his mind.

“Speak your mind, Damar.” Victus said, he’d groomed Maridus as he protégé for about 10 years and could read him like an open book, curious silence like that meant that he had something on his mind.

Maridus let out a short sigh. “Sir, is this a good idea?” he asked but Victus didn’t look up from what he was studying. “If anything happens to her because of a grudge it could start another war.”

Victus nodded understanding his hesitation but disagreed with part of his comment. “I don’t think it’ll start another war but I understand your concern, I have the same.” He added and looked to him. “Make sure she stays in one piece.”

Maridus nodded. “Shouldn’t be too hard considering what’s she’s survived.” He replied and heard an airy cackle from Victus.

**

For the next few days, Sidda was getting used to the ship and making sure the Turian’s onboard knew she was there. That wasn’t too tough since they all knew about the human exchange student they got. Everytime she ran across a Turian they looked at her sideways and gave her a wide berth. She knew that it would take time for everyone to get used to the situation but it was starting to get on her nerves. Her quarters were at least something close to familiar, she was given private quarters meaning she had no roommate.  
According to Maridus they were reserved for VIPs, she wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about that, there was a desk, a terminal, a locker, a bunk that a human would call twin or queen size, a couch and a small table. It was oddly big given the military vessel she was on. The best was the biggest irritation, too soft and that took her by surprise.

Her armor had been stored in the locker room along with the rest of her combat oriented equipment but would look out of place to the jet black armor that she had observed the Turians used. She was going to have to get used to feeling out of place but it was going to be a long mission.

Morning mess was just like any other ship she’d ever served on. Packed, noisy, a place everyone could talk before getting on with their day. Sidda didn’t eat the food onboard, Dextro DNA food wouldn’t kill her but it would sure as hell be uncomfortable. Anderson had sent a generous supply of human rations, the rations were not the best but it did the job. Rather than being anti-social she tried to befriend the crew, so far it wasn’t working. She normally ate at a table by herself.

Sidda entered the Mess Hall and the room got quiet, she looked around suddenly feeling like she landed under a microscope but put her chosen rations for the morning on a tray and made her way through the line to get some water. She didn’t want to appear uncomfortable but some could tell as she walked toward the table she normally sat at.

“Commander.” A voice said from her right and saw Maridus gesture for her to come over.

She walked over to him and shook her head. “What? Do I smell? Do I have something in my teeth? What?” she asked and Maridus chuckled shaking his head.

“No, Commander, you smell fine.” He said chuckling, gesturing for her to take a seat. “Please, join me.”

Sidda sat down and looked at him still feeling like the new kid in school. “What the hells the matter with everyone?” she asked, her voice tinged with some irritation about everyone staring at her. “You’d think that they’d never seen a damn human before.”

Maridus shrugged and could agree with some of what she said. “Well, you’re human and that’s part of it.” He said as she opened her rations. The food wasn’t readily identifiable to Maridus, hell not even to Shepard. It probably tasted like Chicken too.

“Yeah, well, what’s the other part?” She asked paying more attention to her food than anything else, probably trying to identify it.

Maridus looked her up and down as she forked through her food. “You’re a biotic.”

She paused and looked up at him cocking her head. “So? What does me being a biotic have to do with anything?”

Maridus leaned forward taking in a sharp breath. He studied her still trying to get to know her after a few days of being onboard. “Commander, let me ask you this; have you ever seen a biotic Turian?” he asked and she thought about that.

Sidda’s brow furrowed as she thought about it, in all the studies, and the Alliance training during the academy about them she’d seen or heard of maybe a handful. “Actually, no…not really.” she replied now listening to him completely.

Maridus made his case. “There are very few Turian’s with biotic capabilities, but…their population is segregated. Turian’s don’t trust biotics they never have, not even our own people. Don’t expect them to trust you…not even a tiny bit.” He explained and she never knew about any of this.

Sidda blinked, now she had a thousand questions. “Why don’t your people trust biotics?” She asked and he took a drink clearing his throat.

“Unit cohesion mainly.” He replied. “During the Unification War biotic Turians were placed among the units as ‘observers’ and assassins, this did not go over well after the War.” He said and she leaned forward listening. “After the War the Heirarchy didn’t trust the biotics and segregated them into their own colony. They’re used as shock troops now.” He hoped that what he was saying would help her.

She sat back in the chair and took it all in. “That explains a lot.” She said. “Thanks, Maridus.”

“Damar.” He correct and she looked at him cracking a smile.

“Sidda.” She said with a smile and leaned forward to starting eating. “Glad I have at least one friend onboard.” She muttered and Maridus chuckled.

“Just didn’t want to see that pathetic look on your face anymore.” He sniped as she took a bite of food and coughed on it.

She cleaned up the food bits and eyed him. “Don’t know which is worse…your sense of humor or this food.”

He laughed out loud and went back to eating. “Probably your food…it even smells horrible.”

**

Fitting in with the Turians was turning out to be tougher than she thought, there had been a lot of negative talk among the Turians about Shepard, she was doing her best to fit in and train with them or do something to gain their trust or approval. It wasn’t easy; they didn’t know what to do with her, although she had respect from some of them due to her background the majority of them didn’t really care about what her credentials were. She’d been onboard for about two weeks but it felt like an eternity. She wasn’t making any headway and that frustrated her, Victus was patient but still wasn’t sure exactly what to do with her, he hadn’t assigned her anything and part of that was because of her biotic abilities.

Sidda spent a lot of time watching the Turian’s spar, observing them was one way she could learn how to fight like them. She was very good at hand to hand as a human but had never gone up against a Turian. She eyed two of the recon scouts as they carefully battled it out, Turians closely monitored the sparring to make sure no one was injured Maridus was apparently the ship moderator most of the time, she rarely saw him spar in the two weeks she’d been onboard but he was always there to make sure the crew didn’t overstep.

“Who’s next?” the Maridus asked and the young Lieutenant she’d met on her first day stood up. His name was Nov, and it turned out his first name was Callus; she’d observed in at morning mess with others and determined that he actually had a sense of humor but he practically ignored her when he was in her presence. His markings were striking, she’d never seen Turian markings like his bright red solid mask, she’d seen the red colony markings but not like this and so far he was the only one onboard who had them. “Alright, pick your dance partner, Nov.”

There was a pause as Nov’s attention turned to her direction. “The Human.” He called and Sidda looked up surprised but she couldn’t help but feel a little worried, she’d never actually sparred with a Turian.

The entire room turned to look at her and she looked around still surpised about sudden challenge. “How about it, Commander?” Maridus asked, Victus’ second in command was one of the only people onboard that didn’t look down at her for being ‘the Human’.

She stood nodding, sink or swim time if they were going to hurt her it was going to happen. Her mission was to build relations with the Turians so showing that human’s weren’t weak was a hell of a way to show that. Her service record was one thing but that didn’t mean a whole lot to the Turians, it got her a little bit of respect out of the gate but that was it. “Let’s do it.” She said and took her Alliance tunic off leaving her with just the undershirt, pants, and boots.

Her opponant was much bigger than she was and as she had observed Turians were exceptional fighters, light, fast, and strong. Nov attacked her and she blocked his attack like a human would, it was good block but it also got her knocked on her ass from Nov’s other punch. His fist hit her gut like she’d been hit by a rock. She groaned in pain and made a mental note not to do that again. She returned his hit by attacking this time and used her size to evade him going under him and kicked him firmly in the back sending him forward. Nov didn’t like that too much and went after her with renewed effort. He came at her hard and a friendly sparring match went one step further. She was hit quite a few times in the abdomen as she tried to block but fighting a Turian was not easy. He had her at a disadvantage and backing up when she lost her footing he added one final insult, a hard backhand to the left side of her face.

 _“Keep her in one piece? That was supposed to be an easy job.”_ Maridus thought to himself remembering Victus’ standing order to him to keep her in one piece. “Nov!” she heard Maridus yell as his hit dazed the hell out of her. “That’s enough.”

Nov leaned down to her but it wasn’t to offer her a hand up. “Go back to Earth, Human.” Nov hissed, his comment earned a burning glare from Maridus.

She pulled herself up and shook her head to get her brain back into place. She tasted blood in her mouth that she spit out onto the mat. “You alright, Commander?” Maridus asked, watching her get up and shake off that match.

“You wanna fight, Nov, bring it on.” She challenged and Nov turned to look at her and the look on his face took her by surprise. _Was he impressed?_

As entertaining as the next few minutes were bound to be, Maridus knew he needed to stop this before Shepard was killed. If she died during a sparring match he knew his head would be a trophy on Victus’ desk for the rest of time. “Stand down!” Maridus barked and Nov froze in his tracks. “Commander, go to medical, get checked out. You took a pretty good hit.”

Sidda didn’t like his decision to end the fight, it made her look weak and that was not her intention. “I don’t nee-…”

Questioning the first officer was something none of them did and that was plainly evident on everyone’s face. “Now, Commander.” He stressed and she walked out.

She didn’t like the walk out of there, she felt like she didn’t show what she could do. Like she was weak and let herself be beaten, being sent to Medical pissed her off even more, she wasn’t going to break. Something was going to need to change or she was going to drown on this ship.

**

In Medical, she was treated with kind of a loathsome distain, there was really nothing wrong with her, but Dr. Holum did what he was asked and made sure nothing was broken or damaged. “What happened?” Victus asked; he startled her since she hadn’t realized he walked in.

“General.” She said and moved to stand but he waved her off.

Victus stepped toward her and studied her. “You took part in the sparring?” He asked and put his hand on her chin turning her face toward him so he could see the damage, Nov gave her a really good hit. “How did that go?”

She chuckled slightly and got off the bed. “Not well.” She replied. “You Turian’s are some tough bastards.”

Victus still didn’t know what to do with her; she was interesting but still didn’t know how to handle her. “When you are feeling able, Commander, would you join me in my cabin?” he asked and she thought about it for a minute, unsure exactly why he was asking.

“Uhh, sure…I mean, Yes, Sir.” She replied and he was satisfied with that answer and quietly walked out. She watched him go and allowed a smile.

**

Sidda put on her very best, her sharp Alliance uniform, and made her way to the General’s quarters, she ignored the looks she got she went but no one questioned her. Victus’ quarters were bigger than hers and she felt out of place again as she stepped in.

“Commander, thank you for coming.” He said and she noticed food set up on the table. “I understand the food on board isn’t tailored to suit a human, but our chef enjoys a challenge.” He offered and she looked at the food, it looked kind of like a round steak with some vegetables she couldn’t identify.

Her stomach growled and she couldn’t help but smile. “Oh, this is perfect.” She said and smiled to him. Her reaction made him cock his head slightly finding that he enjoyed seeing her smile like that. “I’ve been eating the human rations Anderson sent but…there’s only so much of that stuff you can eat.” She chuckled and he cracked a laugh too then gestured for her to sit.

“Please, have a seat, Commander.” He said and then sat down by his dinner. “How are you feeling?”

She settled in the chair and picked up a fork glancing at him. “Sore…but I’ll survive. I felt like that a lot after N7 training.” She said and took a drink of the water, there was something up. He wanted something from her and he was doing a pitiful job of covering it up. “Alright, General, spill it. Why’d you call me here?”

Victus allowed a smile and nodded to her. “You’re very perceptive, Commander.” He said and she cocked her head. “Do you know the main reason I agreed to taking you onboard, Commander?”

Sidda’s default was sarcasm. “Drew the short straw?” she replied with a snort.

Victus allowed a laugh but shook his head; her sense of humor was refreshing. “I wanted to meet the officer responsible for the Skyllian Blitz.” He continued and he saw her pause for a moment. “Tell me about Elysium.”

Sidda adjusted in her seat and looked away. People called her a hero but that battle was hard to talk about, a lot of stuff happened that she’d rather forget. “You read the file.” She replied and he nodded.

“I did.” He nodded and leaned forward putting his elbows on the table. “But I want to hear it from you.”

Sidda was quiet for a moment and took another drink of the water. “I was on shore leave.” She said. “Then the Batarian’s dropped in. They hit Illyria hard and fast with more Batarians that I‘d ever seen in my life, when the fighting started I found three Marines on leave from the _SSV Caledonia_. We rallied a resistance, Illyria Security and set up a defensive line at the spaceport. We had control of the AA Guns and the Alliance said to hold that position.” She explained sounding unhappy while talking about this. “There were thousands of Batarians in that attack against three marines and me. In Earth’s Anicent History there was a battle in a place call Thermopoli. A decimated Spartan Army of 300 held off a Persian attack of a million men. The Spartan army fought so hard that the Persian’s lost their taste for fighting.”

Victus simply listened to her, he hadn’t studied Earth’s history but he took her word on it. “Brave men.” Victus stated, he was content to just listening to her talk. “What happened to the Spartan Army?”

She sighed and smiled to him. “Annilihated. But that is all that I could think of during that fight.” She said and he continued to listen. “I set up a defensive line with the Marines; we armed the civilian police force in case any Batarians got past us. The Alliance told us to hold and they were on their way so all we had to do was survive until they got there. During the first wave the Batarians launched a missile at us…killed those three men instantly.” There was a pause as Victus looked her up and down. As hard as her exterior was she could feel the pain of what she was talking about. He’d lost men too and understood where she was coming from. “Watching them die really pissed me off. They launched a second missile toward the civilians bunkered in the spaceport…I spawned a singularity and trapped it. Then I hit it thrown and sent it back.” She said with a bit of growl sounding please with her work.

Victus chuckled softly his head and smiled. “Impressive, Commander.” He stated and she nodded.

“The biotics amplified the blast.” She said. “Times two, one biotic missile destroyed I don’t know how many Batarians in the process, gave the Batarians a moment of pause as they tried to figure out how to beat a biotic that had one thing going for her…superior position.” She added, looking up at Victus. He was intent listening to her, there was something about him that she was attracted to. So far he was quiet and kept her at a distance but there as just something about him. “The Batarian’s kept coming; wave after wave I had to conserve ammo so I used biotics…probably saved us all. When Hackett arrived I was exhausted…I was shot twice, took a shrapnel hit.” She said gesturing to the scar under her left eye and down her right temple. “They sent me to Medical on the _Agincourt_ and I didn’t wake up for 16 hours. When I woke up they called me a hero and gave me a metal.”

Most people she told this to brushed it off as military bravado or propaganda but he didn’t see that, Victus saw a brilliant tactician who used what she had to achieve the mission. She did the impossible and he respected that. “Commander, what you did is harder than facing a bullet. You were tasked with holding a key location that prevented the total domination of a colony. You may not be a hero in your eyes but you’re most deffinitly a hero to those colonists.”

Sidda knitted her eyebrows and cocked her head to him. His words actually made her feel better about retelling the story. She’d heard people tell her that before but hearing it from him just felt better. “Thanks.”

He nodded to her respectfully. “You’re a hell of an officer, Commander, I’m proud to have you here.” He told her and she couldn’t help herself.

“Even though I was thrust upon you against your will.” She inquired and could have sworn she saw him blush, at least she thought it was a blush, the plates under his paint darkened and he cleared his throat. He’s blushing.

Victus tried to hide his reaction behind his drink and took a sip before responding. “I can think of worse things, Commander.” He replied and she cracked a half smile before returning to her dinner.


	2. Proving Ground

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Two: Proving Ground

 

An alarm was going off on the _Lante_ and Sidda was making her way toward the CIC to find out what was going on. She’d been onboard for almost a month and hadn’t seen much in the way of combat action, she found that a little odd. She almost thought it was because of her, maybe Victus was sandbagging because she was there. If that was the case she’d kill him.

“General.” She greeted walking onto the CIC. “What’s going on?”

Victus was pleased to see her respond to the general quarters but went straight to business. “A Batarian Slaver ship just hit a Turian Transport vessel.” He said quickly and tapped a few kept on the console before him. “We’ve tracked the ship and prisoners, we’ve been ordered to intercept.”

Along with Sidda, Cerrus, and Nov also joined them. They led the ground teams so it stood to reason why they were present. “I’ll have my team standing by and ready, Sir.” Cerrus said but Victus shook his head. Cerrus led Centar Unit; the primary Special Ops team on the ship, Nov led the other team, Argo. What Sidda knew about Cerrus could fill a shot glass; he was higher ranking than Nov but a little less tolerant of Sidda. He hadn’t said more than six words to her since they met on day one but to be perfectly honest the only ones that really talked to her were Victus and Maridus.

“No. Cdr. Shepard,” he announced looking to her. “you will be in command of this operation, both teams will be at your disposal to use as you need.” That decision made Cerrus, Maridus, and Shepard look at him shocked. No one was more shocked that she was but she hid it under a few blinks.

“Sir, no.” Cerrus blurted, as his brain to mouth filter failed.

Victus glared at him, nothing needed to be said as Cerrus immediately closed his mouth to the outburst he knew he never should have said. “Go, Commander.” He said not looking at her but glaring down the Captain that had spoken out of turn. “Cerrus, you go too. _She_ is in command.” He emphasized. Sidda didn’t like that tone, Cerrus was going to be a problem, she could feel that.

As they left Maridus moved over to him quickly. “General, this is a bad idea.” He stated. “They don’t trust her.”

Victus was tired of dancing around this. “They’ll learn. Time to see what the Commander can do.” He replied as his tone ended the conversation.

**

In the armory, Sidda shimmied around in her black and yellow N7 armor and blinked getting used to her Sentry Visor. The Turians wore all black with only the Turian insignia to show on it. Her black and yellow was a glaring difference and that actually made her feel better. She stood out this time, she was to be noticed and that made her smile inwardly. She pulled a Turian assault rifle off the rack and checked it. It was heavy but she was familiar with it, Maridus took her through the weapons during her first week and she found that the Phaeston was great weapon. She was looking forward to using it in a practical manner.

“Sure you can handle that, Little Girl?” Cerrus hissed in a hostile, mocking tone.

Cerrus like Lt. Nov didn’t think too much of her. They didn’t have a reason not to like her but she was a biotic and a human, quite possibly the worst combination there could have been. It was going to be an uphill battle and if she wanted their respect she needed to start giving it as good as they were. Show the strength and grit that earned her the reputation in the Alliance. “Step in front, Cerrus, I’ll show ya.” She returned in kind but only got a glare in response. “Let’s go.” she said to the units.

If she screwed this up, Andersons little ‘exchange program’ would be finished. She could lead a team… that was no problem. Leading a team full of Turian’s who, up to now, had mearly tolerated her was a whole other thing.

**

In the shuttle, she hovered over the terminal as Victus spoke. _“Commander, the Batarians are aware you’re coming, we’re targeting their weapons but be advised: Check your targets, there are civilians onboard.”_ Victus said and she nodded.

Sidda stood quietly setting into combat mode like an old pair of shoes. “I don’t think the Batarians are going to be very happy when we kick down their front door.” She said and Victus scoffed to her humor.

 _“I think you know how to handle angry Batarians, Commander.”_ Victus replied and she couldn’t help but smile. _“Good hunting.”_ He added and the terminal cut out.

Sidda turned to her unit pushing the unease to the back of her mind. This was any other team and she’d treat them like it. “Alright, when we hit the airlock, cut and hack it. There’s gonna be some pissed off Batarians on the other side but check your fire. Nov, I want you to take a team and sweep aft, clear a path for any prisoners we find to come back to the shuttle. I’ll take a team and sweep forward and get control of the bridge. This is a standard, small slaver ship but don’t let that fool you…they’re good with surprises.”

“Two minutes, Commander.” The pilot announced interrupting her before she turned her attention on the other ranking person she hadn’t given an assignment to yet.

“Cerrus, stay here and guard the shuttle, make sure any prisoners get onboard.” She ordered and he didn’t like that. He was a ground leader, on of Victus’ best, not a damn doorman.

“Hell, no!” he snapped and she looked at him, not really surprised about his response to her choice of assignment for him, but not forgiving it either. “I am not a damn doorman.”

Now was the time to assert her dominance, she knew what she would have done to a human who questioned her orders and a Turian was no different. In her experience, you didn’t have to like the assignment you just had to do it. She learned that the hard way on Elysium, the hardest most brutal battle she’d fought to date. She didn’t have an issue with people questioning an order that was complicated or more or less immoral but not one that was questioned just because you didn’t like the assignment. “Captain, you will follow my orders with a goddamn smile or I will shoot you right here if you prefer!” she barked and he closed distance to her but she didn’t flinch staring up and 6’6” giant.

“Captain,” Nov began moving to him carefully. “I don’t think she’s kidding.” He said and Cerrus looked down to her see her right hand on the Brawler pistol.

Cerrus found minute level of respect for the Commander, he didn’t like it but he backed off, her reputation preceded her. Now that she was more than pissed off she set her jaw and felt a jolt from some turbulence as they approached the airlock. “Nov!” she barked. “Get the goddamn door.”

The ship rocked as the docking collar met the airlock and the Turian shuttle forced its way in. Nov opened their side and hit several keys on his Omni-tool to get the Batarian door hacked. “Commander, I’m reading a lot of movement on the other side of that door.” Balin informed and she figured that.

“Alright, Gentlemen, here we go.” She said taking the Phaeston off her back and readying herself.

“Commander, massive movement, they know where you’ve landed.” Balin repeated.

“Nov, when the door opens stand clear.” She said putting her rifle back on her back. The Turians looked at her confused, and then they saw both her hands glow biotic blue. The tug of dark energy surrounded her as she glow a brilliant blue. “Everyone else fire when I tell you to.” The door opened and true enough there were ten Batarians standing on the other side. She unleashed her biotic power in the form of Singularity, trapping almost all of them in the field and followed that with her Unstable Warp about ten seconds later, that would detonate a biotic field on contact; the Warp blast hit the trapped Batarians and the resulting biotic explosion sent them careening into the bulkheads. “Now!”

Her order was well received and the Turians opened fire, killing any stragglers that either escaped the biotic one two punch or survived it. The way was clear for now and Sidda stepped onto the Batarian ship.

Nov had never seen that before and cackled to the handiwork. “Not bad, Commander.” Nov stated, sounding impressed with her work.

She allowed a smile and swept her rifle back and fourth then turned to Nov. “Better than a grenade.” She replied and he could agree with that. “Alright, go.” She said and he headed aft with his crew.

Sidda pushed forward with her team and followed the life signs that the _Lante_ had uplinked. As an Adept Biotic Sidda was trained to use mostly her biotics in a fight, she could shoot well and was a hell of a tactitican but close quarters combat was a bit of problem for her. She was good at hand to hand but biotics were better against enemies that outclassed her. She was nearing the bridge but had encountered light resistance, they were either massing at the bridge or back by the holding cells. If they were back by the holding cells Nov could be in trouble. “Nov, how’s it coming?” she asked and there was a pause as the Lieutenant made time to answer the phone.

He ducked behind a bulkhead to evade bullets flying at his head. “Encountering some resistance, Commander, but we’re getting them out.”

“Commander, this is Cerrus. We’re receiving the civilians.” Cerrus reported and she nodded continuing to push forward toward the bridge. If she could get to the bridge she could hack the database and or take control of the ship.

She rounded the corner to get to the bridge and found a slew of Batarians waiting. They’d formed a defensive line and made her pause. “I think I just found the rest of the Batarians.” She commented to the Centar soldiers she had with her. They were Cerrus’ men, Lieutenants both, Kalvaris and Masso. “You ready?” she asked putting her kinetic barrier up.

“Yep.” They said and she sent a shockwave around the corner.

 

On the _Lante_ , Victus and Maridus didn’t stray far from the war room, they both wanted an update but Maridus questioned his Generals wisdom of sending her to a Batarian slaver ship. Not only that but the wisdom of putting her in charge. Maridus watched Victus, trying to judge his body language. If he didn’t know any better he’d say the silence from the boarding team was worrying him. He’d never really been this intent on a mission.

Victus could feel Maridus’ eyes watching him and looked up at him. “What?” he asked and Maridus sighed.

“Why did you send her?” Maridus asked and Victus sighed but it sounded a little like a growl.

“Not now, Major.” He answered his tone ended the line of questioning.

Between her biotics and her teams well placed shots they really made short work of the Batarians on the bridge and she got to the control console. “Nov, report.” She asked.

 _“Commander, we’re clear back here, just mopping up the rest.”_ Nov answered, she wasn’t kidding when she said this ship was small. _“We found the last of the holding cells. There are a lot of people down here, way too many for the shuttle.”_

She nodded and punched a few keys on the console to scan the ship for anymore surprises. “ _Lante_ , this is Shepard.” She said and paused as the console completed its scan. “The ship is ours.”

Maridus looked to Victus and nodded in acknowledgement to his right decision of putting Shepard in command. If his intention was to see what she could do he’d hit the nail on the head, she had the ship taken in under 10 minutes with apparently no casualties to her people.

“Well done, Commander.” Victus replied into the open link.

“We need the _Lante_ to dock directly; there are too many civilians for the shuttle.” She stated and Victus nodded.

“Understood, Commander.” Victus replied and gestured to Maridus.

**

The armory was empty, with the exception those charged with maintaining it. Sidda was checking on her armor using the tools in and equipment to tinker with the Sentry Interface. It had glitched during the mission and flickered out when she reached the bridge.

“Commander.” A voice said from behind her, she recognized it as Victus and spun around nearly dropping the tools she had in her hand.

“General.” She greeted slightly surprised to see him.

He gestured to the officers there to leave and they did so without question. “Commander, your reputation is well earned,” He began, his normal quiet tone worked well with his scruffy voice. “You handled that operation yesterday extremely well.” She heard this from him the day before and wondered where he was going with it; it wasn’t like him to give the same praise twice. “I believe I found you a duty post, Commander.” Sidda narrowed her eyes and kept her eyes on him, he was right, if she was going to be on this ship for a year she needed something to do that didn’t involve being a punching bag for the Turians. So far nothing had come of it; he hadn’t found anything that really suited her aside from putting her on a team to work under with Nov or Cerrus. “Lt. Nov has stepped down from command of Argo Unit and I am placing you in command.”

Her expression was a collision of suspicion, confusion, and surprise. “Why would Nov step down?” she asked, a perfectly legitimate question and one that Victus was happy to answer.

Victus shrugged slightly, the fact that Nov did this at all was a huge indicator of her skill. “Apparently, he was very impressed by your command.” He said walking toward her. “Something about a Biotic grenade.”

She chuckled a little and looked down at the floor then back up to him. “Ahh, yes.” She said making sure he caught her tone as playful not cocky.

He let out a single soft chuckle to that but he continued. “I also spoke to Cerrus.” He continued and his tone changed, obviously word of her ‘Command Style’ had reached Victus. “His opinion of you was less than kind.”

Probably the understatement of understatements, Sidda shrugged and wasn’t about to apologize for what she had said. “He questioned my orders, not because it was immoral or conflicting, he just didn’t like the assignment. He won’t do it twice. Men under me are either loyal or I have no use for them.”

Victus nodded to her reasoning. “I understand, Commander, however please don’t shoot my men. Whatever else they may be to you, I need them.” He said simply. “I’ve worked very hard to train them.”

She looked away from him and nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

With that Victus nodded to her, so long as they had an understanding she could kick Cerrus’ ass for all he cared, the Turian could handle it and it would probably be good for him. “You will be in command of Argo; Lt. Nov will be your second in command, he’s a good officer and an even better Tech I suggest utilizing him.”

Sidda took that into consideration, this was the same Turian who told her to go back to Earth after the hardest punch she’d felt in a really long time. “Thank you, General.”

Victus turned to leave but paused looking over his shoulder to her. She was an excellent officer, hearing how she handled an insubordinate told him she could handle this assignment and also earned more respect from him. “A word of advice…if they don’t trust you they won’t follow you. You mean nothing to them. You have to earn their trust and respect, then they’ll follow you anywhere.”

Sidda looked at him and heeded his advice, Victus was very popular with his crew and they were completely loyal to him. “Yes, Sir.” She said as she watched him walk away.

**

Sidda was excercising by herself in the training room, she was going through motions of various forms of Martial Arts both trying to relax and keep sharp. “Commander.” A familiar flanged voice said from behind her.

She identified it as Nov. “Lieutenant.” She greeted not looking back at him.

Nov was trying to figure out how to act around her now. After his display in the training room before that gave her the hand sized bruise on the side of her face he didn’t think too much of her. Her military prowess on the Batarian ship opened his eyes. “May I say something, Commander?”

Sidda paused and looked at him. _Good God he’s tall._ “Go ahead.”

Nov took a moment before saying anything. “I apologize.” He said and she stood still studying him. “For the…what I said and the…” he said and gestured to the almost healed bruise on the side of her face.

Sidda went back to her excercising. “Its fine, Nov.” she replied lightly. She didn’t hold a grudge against him; it was a courting period, getting to know you. Sidda was the new kid on the block and was prepared for her share of bullying. “Don’t worry about it. You beat me, fair and square.”

Nov allowed a snort, he masked the surprise about how she handled it his apology, and she didn’t hold a grudge. That spoke for her character and he smiled. “You have skill, Commander.” He said and she stopped turning to look at him with a loud cackle.

“Yeah, against humans.” She laughed and he stepped up to her.

“May I?” he asked and she narrowed her eyes to him. “Your size is your benefit. We’re bigger, stronger, and faster but you are small and agile. Try and stay out of our direct reach.”

Sidda scoffed to his suggestion. “Thanks for the tip.” She muttered.

Nov laughed to the dry humor. “Go for the legs.” He suggested through his laugh.

Sidda was watching Nov as he showed her a few ways to improve sparring with Turians. Weak points on Turians were their legs, since they didn’t have muscle like humans did they didn’t have a layer of defense against an impact, also their bones were hollow like a birds, meaning they were easy to break if hit with enough force.

“Well, look at this.” Another voice said drawing their attention seeing Cerrus; Sidda read his body language and could tell he was going to be a problem for her, a 6’6” problem. “Don’t bother, Callus.” He hissed.

Nov stepped in his path trying to head this off. “Tyr, don’t. Come on leave her alone.”

Cerrus glowered at the subordinate. “Shut up, Callus.” He growled. “One mission with her and Victus gives her your unit and suddenly you jump on her side.” Sidda could see that Nov was about to go toe to toe with the Captain if he didn’t stop talking and she put a hand on his arm shaking her head. “How about it, Commander?” Cerrus challenged getting around Nov putting both hands on her and forcefulling shoving her back. “You want to shoot me now?”

“Hey!” Nov barked getting in the Turian’s face. “Back off.”

Sidda may have been small, and human, and a woman but she wasn’t about to back down from him. “I’m starting to wish I had, Asshole.” She hissed back to him.

Cerrus growled, he actually growled, part of Sidda’s brain was now realizing the deep shit she just stepped in but she refused to back off. “Tyr.” Nov warned.

“No, Nov, if he wants to have a go let him.” Sidda interjected.

“Tyr, back off. Leave her alone.” Nov said but it was pointless. Cerrus had challenged her and so far Sidda didn’t back down from anything they’d thrown at her, even when it meant lots of pain in the near future.

“Allow me to teach you how to fight.” Cerrus growled and fired a punch at her, Sidda’s training took over and she blocked his swing with her left arm bring her right fist up to hit him hard across the left mandible.

That was it; her striking him started a fight that she never thought of. Cerrus exploded on her not holding back anything. Threatening to shoot him was part of his anger; gaining command of his friend’s unit didn’t thrill him either. She was a human. Who the hell did she think she was?

**

Victus made his way into medical and once again saw Sidda bruised and bloody, she never backed down from a fight so when the crew called her out for a sparring match she always accepted despite her woeful disadvantage. To her credit she didn’t use her biotics; if she did his Turian crew didn’t stand a chance. He was tired of seeing her banged up and bloody, that was not why she was here. He watched as the medical staff cleaned up her face and checked all her other injuries.

Victus turned to Nov and grabbed the front of his tunic yanking him toward him. “Why the hell didn’t you stop it!” he barked.

“Sir, I’m sorry but she brought this on herself when she threatened Tyr.” Nov said and Victus didn’t like that answer. “General, in her defense I think she gave him a moment of pause.”

“She is not on board to be beaten on a daily basis, Lieutenant!” he scolded in a raised tone.

Nov wasn’t stupid, he knew that, but he also knew that Victus never got this angry over a sparring match that went too far. He wasn’t going to speculate why but the reason flooded his mind. Fear of retaliation from the Alliance was at the forefront. “Tell her that!” he defended. “All she’s got to do is say no or back off. Even that wasn’t going to work, Tyr was pissed there was no way he was going to let her walk away.”

Victus shoved him back and turned away looking at Sidda through the window. “Where is Cerrus?” he asked in a low growling tone.

“In his quarters.” Nov answered straightening his uniform out. “And he doesn’t look much better than she does.”

**

Cerrus was as bruised and beaten as Sidda was but he deserved every moment of it. He entered Victus’ office and stood at attention. “General, you wanted to see me?” he said and Victus turned to the Captain. By the look of his face Sidda gave back everything he gave her and he actually felt a rush of pride to that thought.

“You better explain yourself, Captain.” He said and saw him stand at ease. “Who told you to stand at ease?” he growled and Cerrus immediately went back to attention. “Explain to me why Cdr. Shepard is in Medical right now.”

“She’s not as tough as she thinks she is.” Cerrus answered, for as quiet as he was he had a smart mouth when he was in trouble, ‘doesn’t respect authority’ that what his file said thought that wasn’t entirely accurate, it depended on the authority. Victus’ temper flared to his attitude. Cerrus’ attitude and a reputation for being an ass was going to get him court-martialed one day.

Victus closed the distance between them getting inches from his face. “This is not a game!” he barked in his face. “She is an officer under my command and until she leaves this vessel she is _your_ superior.”

“General, she threatened to shoot me.” Cerrus defended as Victus turned away from him.

“I don’t blame her.” Victus snapped turning back to him. “If you’d have questioned one of my orders like that I guarantee would have shot you.”

“Sir, I-…” Cerrus started but Victus cut him off.

“Captain, it is very important to your future that you not finish that sentence.” He growled and Cerrus said nothing further. Victus was not someone to trifle with, and he believed him when he said he would have shot him. “You are an officer on this ship and you will act like it or you will no longer be onboard this ship. Do I make myself clear, Captain?”

Cerrus swallowed his lecture and thought it best not to fight with the General, this was the only posting that would have him and he knew it. “Yes, Sir.”

“Dismissed.” He ordered and watched Cerrus leave. The people he had onboard were all Special Forces, people he trained and handpicked. Cerrus was a phenomenal tactician and a hell of a sniper, he’d had an authority problem since the academy and a troubling service record but Victus had learned how to train him and deal with his bad attitude. Cerrus also had a problem with humans but Victus wasn’t going to let that be an excuse for Cerrus, or any of his crew, to beat on Sidda.

**

Sidda looked like she had gone a few rounds with a heavyweight boxer. Cerrus did a great job trying to kick her ass but Nov put a stop to it before things got way out of hand. The fact that she didn’t back down and never gave up earned her more respect from the Turians, it was gonna be a hard year long assignment if she was going to feel like this every week. As she collected her breakfast for morning mess, Maridus got his first look her.

“Spirits.” He commented as she approached then sat down across from him. “I hope you won.”

Sidda gave him a mock glare and scoffed. “I gave it my best effort, believe me.” She replied and Maridus chuckled.

“Apparently that wasn’t good enough.” Maridus sniped and she snorted to his humor. “You look like shit.”

Sidda liked Damar, he had a sense of humor that she enjoyed and reminded her of humans. “You wanna go, Damar, you just say the word.” She said and Maridus laughed enjoying her banter.

Maridus shook his head looking at her. “You couldn’t handle me.” He stated with a cocky tone.

Sidda took a drink of her water and eyed him shaking her head to his statement. “You’re that good huh?” she asked not buying his bullshit.

“I’m the best you’ll ever have.” He replied making sure his tone reflected a playful flirty tone.

Sidda laughed out loud and sat back in her chair shaking her head. “Oh my god, do you use that line on every woman you meet?” she asked.

Maridus shrugged with a chuckle. “Worked on my mate, although, to be honest she said the same thing.” He said and Sidda cocked her head. She was surprised a bit to find out he had a mate, not because she was interested in him but she didn’t peg him for the ‘hitched’ type.

“Mate?” she questioned and chuckled. “Any woman that can bear dealing with you as a mate is someone I need to meet.”

Maridus put both his elbows on the table and looked at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked with a snort showing that he wasn’t offended.

Sidda shrugged continuing with her terrible human ration eggs. “I like you, Damar, but you are a pain in the ass.” She sniped; Maridus was pretty much her only friend on the ship. Nov was coming around and she didn’t know about Victus.

Maridus dropped his fork and gazed at her. “ _I’m_ a pain in the ass? You’ve been onboard for a month and have already shaken the ship to its core.” He said making her laugh and she tipped her water glass toward him with a smile. “What about you, Commander, do you have a mate?”

Sidda shook her head and gave up on the eggs that tasted like cardboard. “No. No husband…mate…whatever you want to call it.” She said and pushed the plate away from her. “Never had time and, at the very least, haven’t found the right one.”

**

Sparring was the new favorite sport on the _Lante_ ; the problem was the Turian crew’s new favorite target was Sidda. This was bordering on abuse and Victus wanted it to stop. The crew had begun betting on how long Sidda would last in a fight, she had gotten much better, picking up on several Turian moves. Nothing like a crash course, sink or swim cession to learn how to survive. He’d seen her fight and was very impressed; he just didn’t want to see her hurt.

There was more that he wanted from her and was frustrated with her over exuberance of pride that made her stand up and fight each time. The more he pushed her to stop the more she resisted and did it. In the training room the betting was getting together even though the only person that was for certain fighting was Sidda. If there was anything that the Turian’s learned it was that she was as tough as they came.

Victus milling about on the deck was different; he was a typically quiet man, highly respected and popular. The crew was used to him observing and occasionally participating. Sidda saw him hanging around but said nothing to him, she knew they were going to pick her to fight and she was up for it. She’d beaten one or two Turians but each time the crew had time to blow off steam in the Training Room they picked her as a sparring partner. She could refuse but her pride would take a hit if she did that.

“Alright, who’s first?” Maridus asked and Victus stepped up making the room cheer, Victus sparred with the crew before so it was nothing new.

“Cdr. Shepard.” He called out and she blinked surprised he was calling on her. Sidda got up and looked at Victus with a puzzled expression.

This was the last thing she wanted, rumor mill was that he was the best on the ship with Nov ranked second. “I’m not fighting you, General.” She said and Victus wasn’t playing, he wanted this to stop.

“Yes you are.” He replied grabbing the front of her shirt and yanking her toward him. “Don’t hold back.” He hissed and shoved her back from him.

“Shit.” She muttered quietly turning toward Maridus and handing him her tunic. “Dear God, please prepare me for the ass kicking I am about to receive.” She said quietly but loud enough for Maridus to hear. She saw him stifle a laugh and she groaned to herself turning around to face Victus, this was going to suck.

Sidda wasn’t thrilled about sparring with him, he was a general, and this was going to hurt no matter how you looked at it. He went after her and she backed up blocking his attack out of instinct. This was the same issue she had the first time she sparred with a Turian and it didn’t go well this time either. He grabbed her arm with his other arm and yanked her forward hitting her hard in the middle of the back letting her topple to the ground.

Sidda got to her feet as Victus paced in a half moon shape waiting for her to get to her feet. She went after him again only employed martial arts, she kicked low to hit his leg but it was well blocked then she aimed high with a kick from the same leg. He caught her leg holding it and she twisted in his grip to bring her leg up hitting Victus hard along the right side of his face. He let go of her foot and she barely caught herself before doing a face plant into the mat. Her left knee hit the mat but she got to her feet.

Victus had to admit that was a good hit. He didn’t stop and returned the favor and she did her best to defend against him. Victus was good, a confident man on the battlefield. Blocking his hits was the best thing to do since he hit like a brick.

This fight was getting intense and the crowd could tell one or both of them was going to spill out off the mat they were on. The more intense it got the harder it was for her to control her biotics; she skillfully attacked and weaved in and out of his strikes. Victus was impressed and so was the rest of the crew, but he scored a great hit with his right leg right into her chest knocking the wind out of her and shoving her backward.

That triggered it and they could see her body glow blue with biotics and before she could stop herself she punched Victus hard with a right handed biotic assisted throw punch. Victus was no match for biotics and he went flying backward into the wall.

The room was silent as they tried to figure out what they had just seen, did she just best the General? Biotic assisted or not, no one had gone that long against the General except Nov. She was panting hard and made her way over to Victus who was getting to his feet, before she got there she could tell he was ready for another round and attacked her pretty much tackling her. She fought him off but wasn’t able to get to her feet before she grabbed him trying to beat him. He spun her around holding her right arm and planted a knee in her back making her scream in pain. Her body glowed blue but she’d had enough and her body knew it.

Sidda slowly got to her feet and the biotic blue glow dulled. She was finished and Victus could see it, he walked toward her holding his hands out in peace. “Alright, that’s it…you’re done.” He said steadying her exhausted body, she was mad partly with herself and partly with him, she was also hurting. Sidda grunted shoved his hands away and making her way through the spectator crowd under her own power.

They gave her a wide berth showing a new respect for the human as she walked past them. She could feel blood draining from her nose and felt bruises developing everywhere. She still had a slight blue glow about her as her defensive guard was still up.

**

Sidda was in her quarters after being checked out by medical, nothing was broken but she was going to be sore. She took her shirt off inspecting the bruising on her back in the mirror. Victus clobbered her good; he was damn good at hand to hand. Her door chimed and she absentmindedly spoke, inviting whoever it was in. “It’s open.” She called. The benefit, or downside, to a life in the military was that bashfulness died quietly in boot camp.

Victus entered and his pace slowed as he saw her with her shirt off, she had a black bra on and just her pants, no shoes. “I apologize.” He stammered, not expecting the sight of her with half her clothing off to affect him like that. “I can come back.”

She turned and waved him off. “No, no. It’s okay.” She said and gingerly reached down for her shirt. “I was just checking the damage.”

Victus looked at the bruising and felt responsible; he shouldn’t have let it go that far. “I am so sorry, Commander, I let that get out of hand.”

She slipped back into her shirt and shook her head. “No. Don’t be, I’m okay. I should be asking you if you are okay, I hit you with a pretty hard with that biotic assist.” She asked noticing he had a bottle in his hand. “What’s that?”

“Turian Brandy.” He replied. “Care for some?”

Sidda nodded. “Yeah, actually, I’d love some. At least…I’ll give it a try.” She said and he removed two glasses from the desk pouring the drinks.

“Commander, I have never been so challenged in a sparring match.” He said handing her a glass and taking one for himself. “You truly are magnificent.”

She blushed and a smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. “Sidda. Please.”

Victus took a sip as she did but never took his eyes off her. “Sidda.” He repeated quietly as if letting the word sit for a moment and be absorbed. She could read his tone, there was something between them that was more than just mutual respect, she’d never felt her heart beat that fast.

She tapped his glass, indicating a silent toast with a smile and sipped the Brandy. It was sweet, like honey, she’d never had Turian Brandy before, hell she hadn’t really eaten anything Turian before. Hopefully one little sip wasn’t going to kill her, if she had a reaction there was Epinephrine in the medical kit. Victus was sweet; she’d never met a Turian that she liked that much. The idea of sparring with him turned her on; he was the perfect specimen of a Turian male. “Why did you do that?” she asked referring to the sparring throw down.

For Victus it was simple and complicated at the same time. He did to get is men to back off in such a way that it didn’t undermine her but he also did for a personal reason…one that he couldn’t rightly explain. “They would have continued to beat on you until they broke you. I didn’t want to see you in Medical again. I challenged you to end that. Losing to me earned you their respect. I am their commanding officer and you almost beat me.” He explained and left out the personal side of it.

She cackled. “I didn’t almost beat you, General.” She said and he took another sip of the Brandy.

“Closer than you think.” He replied clearing his throat. “And call me Adrien.” His body language was speaking volumes to her; there was a spark…hell a brushfire between them.  
Sidda put the glass down and moved toward him and few steps. “Why do you worry about me so much?” she asked and his hardened exterior began to show he was nervous. He closed the distance between them looking in her light brown eyes.

He put his glass down next to hers. “I’m sorry…I don’t know how Humans handle physical attraction.” He admitted sounding flustered. “I…uhh…I’ve grown very fond of you, Sidda. ” He said deciding not to dance around this. She felt her heart flutter and brought her left hand up to lightly touch his mandible.

Victus was surprised at her mutual effection for him. “So have I, Adrien.” She said and he brought his right hand up to take her left hand. He stepped toward her and made his intentions known, the sexual tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Victus put his left hand on her shoulder and pulled her toward him smelling her neck. Her scent was intoxicating and his primal urges were starting to take over, it had been so long since he’d even looked at another female, even a Turian. She caught his mouth in a kiss and wrapped her arms around him.


	3. Shenanigans

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Three: Shenanigans

The beeping of Sidda’s alarm clock sounded like a freight train in her head as she opened her eyes. The room was dark but whatever light there was amplified her headache. She groaned and found herself face down in the pillows wishing she’d kept her eyes closed. “Oh my God.” She groaned out, the Turian Brandy packed a punch, it may have tasted like honey but it packed a punch. Sidda reached for the clock to shut it off, made it silent, and collapsed back down into the soft pillow.

She could feel her right hand on Victus and the events of the night came back all at once. She’d never had sex with an alien before; she didn’t even know if it was possible between humans and Turians. Now she knew, not only was it possible but it felt damn good too, whatever Victus did felt extremely good. It took some trial and error but it was fun getting there. The Brandy, however, it went straight to her head now she had a hangover worse than any she’d ever felt. She rolled over and the movements made her head throb like it was being repeated squeezed in a vice. Victus chuckled as she put her palm on her forehead with a groan.

“How was the Brandy?” he asked quietly and she moaned.

“Oh, shut up.” She replied and he chuckled some more. “That stuff’s sweet going down but not very friendly in the morning.”

“The Dextro/Levo differences…Asari who have drunk it say the same thing.” He ran his hand over her body and very gently over the bruises he caused during the fight. The guilt he felt he couldn’t help. “I didn’t mean to hurt you yesterday.”

Sidda gently moved her head over to look at him. “Adrien, it’s okay. I’m tougher than I look.” She told him as he ran his hand back up her body to her face.

Victus was learning more about her every moment; she was tougher than people gave her credit for, even him. He had fought Humans and knew they had their grit and uses but she was definitely tougher than he thought she’d be. “I know that.” He said and rolled onto his side hovering over her. “I’ll never hurt you again.”

Sidda believed him when he said that and smiled lightly touching the side of his face. She traced her fingers down the right side of his face then down to his shoulder. His skin was tough but not as rough as she thought it would be. It was a bit rough when there was friction involved, she felt a little chafing on the inside of her thighs but she’d take care of that later. He ran his right hand down her soft and smooth skin to her most sensitive area, the area he spent a lot of time in and around all night long.

His touch in her nether regions made her twitch. She put her arms around him and pulled him closer to her kissing his neck. Things were about to go to the sexy, steamy side like the night before and they were both fine with that.

**

Sidda was trying not to act differently, she couldn’t help the feeling that everyone would know she and the General got it on, she worried about that more than she did about the fight the led up to that. She stepped into the CIC and found the eyes of every Turian on her; she went toe to toe with their commanding officer and not only survived but damn near beat him. She used a biotic assist but being that she was human she was already at a disadvantage, using everything in her arsenal was resourceful…not cheating. She was bruised and moving slow but appeared to be okay.

“Commander,” Maridus greeted looking her up and down. “hell of a show yesterday.”

She sighed trying her best not to look like she was moving too slowly. “Not really something I want to repeat, Victus knows what he’s doing.” She stated and Maridus nodded.

“You don’t get to be a General without knowing how to handle yourself in a fight. But you hung with him, remarkable for a human.” He said and realized what he said could have been offensive to her. “I’m sorry, Commander, I meant no offense.”

She shook her head with a smile and waved her hand. “None taken, Damar, don’t worry about it.” She said and he extended his hand to her and she shook it.

Maridus picked up on something, Turian’s had a heightened sense of smell and as she walked by he caught it more. He turned watching her as she left and everything dawned on him. He walked after her and got close to her, smelling it more. “Commander, can I speak with you?”

She was startled at his sudden appearance and stopped walking. “Uhh…yeah…yeah.” She said confused and he led her to the conference room that had no one in it. Sidda looked at him puzzled at his behavior. “What’s up, Damar?”

Maridus was a straight forward officer and he and Sidda got along well. Unlike most Turian’s on board he didn’t need her to prove herself, she did that on Elysium. Her actions in a firefight that long and brutal were all he needed to see what kind of officer she was. He huffed and made a mental note to drop this bomb on Victus when he saw him next. “You and the General.” He stated. “I know…” she had a terrible poker face and he spared her the question. “I can smell him all over you.”

She hadn’t thought of that, romancing a Turian all night long meant his scent was all over her. Obviously that slipped Adrien’s mind as well. “Is it that obvious?”

He shrugged. “Well, the rest of the crew might chalk it up to the beating you two gave each other but I know better.” He said standing relaxed. “So, unless you want to bathe often, I suggest you two spar… a lot.”

She took in a deep breath and nodded. “Right.” She said and smiled to him. “Thanks for the heads up, Damar.” She added and walked past him then paused before she left looking back. “You knew…even before this.”

“Perceptive, Commander.” He said. “But I knew the day he laid eyes on you.” Maridus added and walked out before she did.

Sidda watched him leave and let that sink in. Knew how? She didn’t even know until after he kicked her ass on the mat. Of course, it became plainly evident after last night but it still begged the question of how the hell did Maridus know anything about it? He obviously knew Victus better than she did and could read him better but it told her more about Maridus himself, he was perceptive…very perceptive.

With the news that every Turian would be able to tell her extracurricular activities with Victus, Sidda made her way down to the training room. “General, can you meet me in the Training Room?” She asked into her Omni-Tool, there was a pause and Victus replied.

“Okay.” She heard, his simple reply with that deep voice was enough to make her smile.

In the Training Room she walked back and forth on the mat thinking, she had feelings for Victus, which was obvious but this was odd for her because she’d never had a steady man in her life, growing up on one starship after another was a hard life. Her parents were both Alliance so it was assignment after assignment, not every place had a lot of kids her age. The Academy wasn’t much better; her work ethic was hard to deal with. It was drilled into her by her Admiral father, sure she had a few flings but there was nothing steady. Finding out she had feelings for a Turian was more than a shocker for her.

“Sidda.” Victus greeted walking into the empty room, he was a little afraid of how she would react the next day. Last night was perfect and he would love nothing more than to repeat it as often as possible. Sidda was an amazing woman, someone he wanted around for a long time.

“Hey.” She greeted with a smile but he kept his distance. “Umm…Maridus figured it out.” She said and he cocked his head.

Victus figured it out fast and nodded. “The scent.” He put in and she nodded to him. “I’m sorry. I should have been more mindful.”

She moved toward him and put her hands on his chest. “Don’t apologize, last night was perfect.” She said and he looked down at Sidda, she was attractive and he couldn’t help but think of the night before. Sidda was getting turned on again, she wanted another night with the Turian and wanted to play right now, she pushed him back and set herself up in a fighting stance. Victus looked at her puzzled but picked up on her playful attitude.

Sidda fired a kick with her right leg at him and he put his back toward it grabbing her ankle with his right hand and her throat with his left hand. He pulled her close to his face looking her up and down. There was a low purr from him as he enjoyed sparring with her. “You’ve got a lot to learn.” He stated and she glared at him making him laugh in a low tone.

She put her hands on his shoulders and pulled herself close to him pressing her body to his. Victus removed his left hand from her throat and placed it on her right knee as she bent her leg around him. The sexy, erotic nature of this increased as his hand traveled further up to the curve of her ass.

 _“Gen. Victus to CIC. Gen. Victus to CIC.”_ Maridus’ voice said over the intercom.

Victus was still purring, or at least giving off a non-hostile growl as he looked down at the human female who was playing to his sex drive. “My quarters.” He stated and brought his right hand up to her chest lightly tracing a talon over her breasts. “Tonight.” He finished and she uncurled her right leg from behind him letting him attend to his business.

**

Sidda spent most of her day talking to the two ground units onboard. As an Adept she didn’t have much to bring to the table compared to an Engineer and Turian Biotics were few and far between so she relied on her other skills. Both Anderson and Hackett agreed that she was the most brilliant tactical minds they had ever seen. Her show on Elysium proved that she could handle herself in a fight and Victus knew that. So he had her work with the ground teams to teach tactics that would improve the capabilities of Argo and Centar units.

Some of the strategies and tactics she taught them didn’t sit well with the Turians; they were comparable to the ancient Roman Empire on Earth.

“Commander, how’d you beat the Batarians on Elysium?” Sgt. Pelonis asked, he was on Centar team commanded by Cerrus. Cerrus was about the most annoyed Turian on the ship and he could think a thousand other things he’d rather be doing than listening to Sidda right now. However, as annoyed as he may have been the warning given by Victus rang through clear as a bell; he attended but said nothing to her and grudgingly listened.

“A lot of fucking luck.” She replied. “The only thing that saved me was an elevated position. I was ordered to hold the spaceport so I held it, didn’t seem like I had a choice in the matter so I just did it.”

 _“Cdr. Shepard, message coming in from the Systems Alliance.”_ A voice said through her omni-tool.

Sidda tapped the flashing button and acknowledged it. “Understood.”

 

She made her way to her quarters and tapped her private terminal to see who it was.

 _“Shepard.”_ Anderson said as he appeared on the screen.

Sidda allowed a smile. “Anderson.” She greeted. “How are you, Sir?”

 _“Fine, Commander, just checking in and seeing how the assignment is going.”_ He said and saw the healing bruises on her face from her squabble with Cerrus. _“Damn, what the hell happened to you?”_

Sidda chuckled. “Training with Turians, it can get a little intense but its fine.” She said. “It’s not like a human ship but I’m learning a hell of a lot.”

Anderson nodded, pleased to hear that. _“Glad to hear it, Commander. We haven’t received any reports from the ship commander so I wanted to check in.”_

Sidda snorted. Victus didn’t like being chaperoned and was known for doing things his own way. If he wanted to send a report he did it, most of the time he didn’t. “Gen. Victus is a hell of a commanding officer, Captain.”

 _“Keep yourself in one piece, Shepard. I’ll check in later.”_ Anderson replied and Sidda nodded then the screen went black.

Sidda remembered to shower this time, spending another night with Victus was even better than the first night. They were both still learning how to please the other but it was working out fine. The rumor was that ingestion of the others DNA could have drastic consequences but they were slowly testing that rumor. For as predator like as Turian’s were Victus was surprisingly gentle and contrary to the crew’s popular beliefs he had a sense of humor. She entered the mess hall with her terrible human rations and followed her normal routine collecting water and utensils.

“Good morning, Commander.” Nov greeted, appearing next to her grabbing the same things she was. His food smelled good but most definitely didn’t look good. _‘To each their own.’_ she thought.

“Morning, Lieutenant.” She replied wrinkling her nose at the MRE on her plate.

“Missed you at Mess yesterday, how are you feeling?” he asked and she looked at him wondering if he knew the same thing that Maridus knew. Could he smell him on her? Or did Maridus open his big mouth? Without knowing she decided to try and play it as cool as possible.

“A little sore but I’m okay.” She said and Nov nodded.

Nov could understand that. “I have to say, Commander, I am impressed. The General is the top rated hand on the ship; you lasted longer than anyone else I’ve ever seen.”

Sidda’s mind was currently occupying the gutter so everything Nov was saying had a double meaning or some kind of human innuendo. She said nothing as they walked over to the table that Maridus was at. “Lasted long enough.” She muttered under her breath.

“Good morning, Sir.” Nov greeted, Maridus didn’t even acknowledge that two more people showed up at his table. Nov sat down next to him and Sidda across from him. Sidda cocked her head to him as he was looking intently at a datapad lying on the table.

“Damar?” she questioned when he didn’t reply to Nov’s greeting. “What do ya got there?” Maridus still didn’t answer and Sidda raised her eyebrows, from what she could see it was written in Turian so she didn’t have a hope in hell of reading it. She looked to Nov, puzzled then they both looked to him. “Uhh, Damar…” Sidda said as Nov stood up slightly to look over his shoulder at the datapad. “Hello.”

Nov realized what it was and sat back down. “Oh, he got a letter from Solana.” He stated with a teasing tone. “You’ll see him like this every few weeks. She’ll send him a letter, he’ll obsess over it then he’ll be back to his normal, charming, self.”

“Solana?” Sidda asked. She assumed it was the mate he had spoke of but asked the question anyway. “Who’s she?”

Maridus was still lost in the letter but could hear the conversation around him. “Solana is his lovely mate. Sister to his best friend and let me tell you that was an interesting conversation when he told her brother.” Nov explained and Sidda chuckled.

“What about you, Callus? Do you have a lovely Turian female pining away for you on Palaven?” she asked and Maridus joined the conversation.

“Oh, Spirits, no.” he scoffed, returning his attention to what was left of his breakfast. “Callus is into Asari.”

“Beautiful blue creatures.” Nov added with a dreamy tone.

Sidda looked from Nov with a chuckle to Maridus. “What? You don’t like Asari, Damar?” she asked as she finally started to tear into her packaged food.

He scoffed again and shook his head sharply. “I don’t do tentacles.” He replied and Sidda laughed out loud.

“And you, Commander, do you have a mate back on Earth?” Nov asked. Maridus already knew the answer to that and knew of her extracurricular activities involving Gen. Victus.

Sidda shook her head to answer Nov’s question. “Why don’t you try a Turian, Sid,” Maridus suggested looking at her with what only could be described as a Turian smirk. “might find someone you like.”

Sidda’s glare could have killed him but Nov didn’t pick up on the hostile thoughts Sidda was thinking toward Maridus. “Commander, I volunteer.” Nov stated and Maridus choked on the next best thing to Turian coffee.

Sidda laughed as well but felt a slight blush to Nov’s comment. “Romantic, Callus, very romantic.” Maridus said looking over at him. “It’s a wonder you don’t have females lining up outside your quarters.”

Nov cackled and shrugged slightly. “Who says they’re not?” he returned and got a laugh out of Sidda.

**

 

The _Lante_ approached the dock for Turian military station _Zinith_. The _Lante_ had been caught off guard by an Ion storm which was an added insult to injury after the ship had already been hit by a massive solar flare that fried a few systems. Now they had been gingerly making their way to the closest station. That was _Zinith_ Station, a hot spot for crews coming in to take some leave; not Victus’ first choice but he didn’t have much choice in the matter.

“ _Zinith_ Station, this is the _PFS Lante_ requesting permission to dock for repairs.” Maridus stated as Victus looked on at the massive space station filling the windows.

 _“Permission granted, Lante.”_ The traffic controller said in a quick reply. _“Welcome to Zinith Station Gen. Victus.”_

Victus cocked his head slightly as Maridus looked over to him, the man was famous; everyone knew this was his ship. The _Lante_ had been at the forefront of many battles with Victus in command and he’d become a bit of legend. “Zara, bring us in nice and steady.” He said to his helmsmen.

Zara Ruvio was a Lieutenant, the ships pilot, and a part of the command staff. Rank wise Cerrus was third in command but Ruvio so technically she was fourth. “Yes, Sir.” She replied not looking back to him. The ship had been acting funky due to the damaged systems and helm didn’t escape, the automated systems worked but fritzed in and out on occasion so she was on her game to ensure the ship didn’t get any more damaged than it already had.

Almost an hour after the ship docked, Victus had techs from the station on board and going through all the problems the ship had been having since its close encounter with a solar flare then the double whammy with an Ion storm.

Victus studied the data pad listing the substantial repairs needed to the more delicate systems that the celestial events fried. “Estimate on repairs, Sir?” Maridus asked as Nov stood not far behind him.

Victus groaned, he’d rather be anywhere else besides supervising repairs to his ship. “Two days.” He replied and got the sense Maridus wanted to ask something else.

“So…uhh…you don’t really need me and Callus onboard right?” he inquired and Victus paused from looking at the datapad and then looked at his first officer.

“Why?” he asked suspiciously and Maridus glared at him, he thought the reason would be obvious.

“What do you mean, why? We haven’t had a decent leave in over a year.” He said and Victus simply went back to his work, his men would survive. “General, please.”

Victus turned to the pleading duo and sighed looking from one to the other. “Alright, fine…two days.” He relented and they both started bouncing like children. “But if I have to come get you two out of the brig like last time the both of you will never see leave again. Ever.”

Maridus and Nov snapped to a salute. “Yes, Sir.” They said in unison barely able to contain themselves.

Victus looked at them and shook his head to their antics, just like his son. “Get out of here.” He said trying not to laugh at them. “Have fun. Stay out of trouble.”

 

** 

 

The ship was a quiet, most of the crew that wasn’t needed for repairs was on the station in a matter of hours. Sidda sat in a chair with her feet propped up on the counter reading a paperback book she’d picked up along the way. It was a book written long ago by Patrick O’Brian called Master and Commander, she’d red it before but it was a favorite and her father’s favorite. The quarters she was in were not her own, she would rather be around Victus so she was sitting at his desk. The door opened and Victus walked in not even noticing Sidda at the desk, he was on a mission and headed to the bed area to deposit a few articles of clothing he didn’t want anymore. He was more than irritated with his ship being laid up and having to supervise it.

Sidda eyed him, he didn’t even acknowledge her presence hell she didn’t think he even saw her. As Victus turned to head back in her direction he looked up from the datapad and froze. “How long have you been there?”

Sidda raised her eyebrows. “I could have killed you.”

He grumbled and walked over to her. “What are you doing onboard? The rest of the crew is on the station.” He asked leaning on the desk she had her feet on.

Sidda shrugged with a sarcastic laugh. “Turian station seems like a place I can get into a lot of trouble.” She replied and closed the book taking her feet off the desk. “Rather spend some time with you.”

Victus looked down at her and traced his right hand down the side of her face. “Don’t bother. I’m stuck supervising the repairs. Go to the station.” He said and stood up to prevent himself from acting on any of his urges. “I’ll call Maridus; tell him to keep you out of trouble.”

Sidda chuckled. “I don’t need a chaperone, Adrien.” She told him standing up.

Victus allowed a scoff. “Never said you did

**

After getting the call from Victus, Maridus and Nov made their way to the docking level to find Sidda; she was going to take 48 hours leave on a Turian space station which meant that this was going to be a leave for the books. Sidda was getting a lot of strange looks and figured she was the only human on the station, she’d learned to live with the sneering looks from Turians that didn’t know what the make of her, at least the crew had gotten used to her and stopped with most of the sneers.

Nov and Maridus quickly move up next to her, one on each side. “Sidda.” Maridus greeted. “Welcome to _Zinith_.” Sidda was startled by their sudden appearance and smiled. “Ready to have some fun?”

Sidda eyed them; their behavior was that of children right now or frat boys, she didn’t know which was worse. “I don’t know. What did you have in mind?”

The station was a bit like the Citadel but smaller, there was everything on the lower level of the station that the soldiers on leave could want. Oblivion was the stations bar and a source of major headaches for the stations security. It was almost exclusively patroned by Turians but the odd Asari could be seen, mostly as dancers and bartenders.

Sidda looked around the entrance of the bar and tried not to panic. There were more Turians then she had ever seen in her life. “Really, Guys?” she asked a little annoyed and surprised. “A Turian bar? Are you trying to get me killed?”

“You’ll be fine, you’re with us.” Maridus replied and that didn’t make her feel much better.

“Oh yeah that makes me feel much better.” She droned. “Everything in this bar can kill me; them, the drinks, you two.” She added and walked with them across the floor to the bar. “I can’t drink anything here. If I have more than two glasses of Brandy I’m on my ass.”

Nov patted her back as they stepped up to the bar. “Then pace yourself, My Sweet.” He smirked earning him a glare from Sidda, Nov had pulled a 180 from the time she first met and when he was kicking her ass on the mat. She liked it.

There were a hundred different ways she saw this ending and the majority of them were bad. She’d never felt so damn outnumbered, Victus would kill them all if she got hurt. The Turians at the bar stopped and gazed at her, this station had probably never seen a human on it.

“Three shots of Brandy.” Maridus ordered from the Asari bartender. The bartender poured the shots and the three of them lined up to knock them back. “Loosen up, Sid.”

Sidda decided to fuck it and let whatever that was gonna happen, happen. She knocked it back and felt the sweet honey taste go down smooth. Sidda closed her eyes; she could feel the dextro Brandy giving her a buzz already. “Ohhhh…that’s good.” She stated and Maridus chuckled.

The night was progressing better than she thought; most of the Turians didn’t really have a bad opinion of her. Pacing herself on drinking wasn’t working out too well but she was still in control of her faculties, the Asari bartender had some Levo drinks so Sidda at least had that to nurse as well. She spent most of her time drinking with Maridus; Nov had disappeared to chase some Asari dancer leaving the two of them at the bar with a few other Turians from the _Lante_.

Nov could hold his alcohol but had to admit the stuff he had been drinking was taking over, his eyes were on a beautiful Asari dancer he’d been staring at since they got there. “Hello, beautiful, why don’t you give me a private dance.” Nov said grabbing her arms lightly and trying to be as smooth and charming a bad boy as he could. He was drunk so he was succeeding in coming off as a bad boy but not at all smooth. “Come on, Sweetheart, tell me your name.”

“Morra.” She replied giving into him but still not wanting to give him the private dance he wanted.

“Morra.” He purred and continued to try and get her to pay more attention to him. “Come on, beautiful, just one dance.”

“Hey, leave her alone.” A Turian of equal height barked at him grabbing his shoulder and spinning him away from her. The Turian had a light face but not colony markings, normally Nov didn’t care about barefaced Turians however he was intoxicated and had a tendency to be a drunk with a short temper.

Nov staggered a little, his balance compromised by the alcohol he’d been knocking back. He caught himself and stepped up to get into the other Turian’s face. “Why don’t you mind your own business, you barefaced bastard.” He growled.

His opponent took offense to his insult and hit Nov hard with a punch to the left side of his face. Nov stumbled to the right from the force of the hit and landed in the clutches of a few more Turians that were obviously not on his side. They held both his arms as Nov got his feet under him though still dazed from the anvil-like hit from Bareface. “Barefaced?” his opponent hissed. “ _Barefaced_? You outer colony, Son of a bitch.” He punched Nov hard again on the left side of his face and would have gone three for three but Nov wasn’t a push over even when his arms were trapped. Instead he dug his talons into the clothing of the ones that were holding him and brought both legs up kicking the barefaced one right in the teeth with his right leg and used his left leg to send him flying backward with a forceful kick. Now that his claws were dug into the poor bastards holding him he closed his grip and threw the one on his right side forward on top of his buddy accented by a growly roar and spun into the one on the left kneeing him in the torso.

This fight was progressing into a full on brawl as more began to attack Nov. He was holding his own ducking and dodging but wound up ducking and dodging right into the barefaced Turian with a bloody mouth now.

Maridus could hear a scuffle taking place in the lower area of the bar and looked on to see what was happening. He stood up straight when he saw Nov being held by his throat and tapped Sidda’s shoulder gesturing to Nov’s current problem. It took about 10 seconds for the pair to respond and they were in motion to help.

“Hey!” Sidda barked as they got closer and saw a knife in the picture being held on Nov. “Let him go.”

Now they found something else to beat on. What was a human doing in Oblivion? “This is no concern of yours.” The barefaced one told her firmly.

Sidda and Maridus got closer. It may have been the Brandy talking but she was not leary of this one at all. Whatever Nov did to piss them off was irrelevant to her, he was her friend and she’d be damned if she was gonna sit back and let them kick his ass. “Let him go and you walk out of here alive. Touch him again and I’m gonna shove that knife right up your ass.”

Both Nov and Maridus looked over to Sidda, that was a bold threat and hopefully she could back that up if this went ass up. “Really?” the barefaced one asked with a smug tone, he was curious about her now. Not curious in a good way, she challenged him. He practically dropped Nov and turned his attention to his new target, Sidda. “I can think of a few things to shove in your ass…or other parts of you. You’re pretty for a human…wonder what kind of a fuck you’d be.”

Maridus and Nov, again, looked at each other, if she didn’t respond they certainly would. Sidda didn’t let that comment slide but she didn’t act on it right away. This was going to be a fight for the ages. She reached down to the table next to her picking up two glasses full of god knows what and handed one to Maridus. She raised the glass to him and downed it quickly. Sidda balled up her right fist and spun giving him a right hook with a ton of force behind it. Nov and Maridus jumped in and the within seconds the whole bar was embroiled in a good old fashion bar fight.

**

Sidda had way too much to drink, her head was pounding and she felt like whatever she had on her stomach was about to be all over the floor. “Oh, my god.” She croaked out squeezing her temples with her palms.

“Oh, oh, she lives.” Nov stated as she gave up trying to move and stayed on the bed.

Where the hell was she? Did they stagger back to the ship? If that was the case what the hell was Nov doing in her quarters. “Where the fuck are we?” she asked. Every movement and even breathing made her head throb.

Maridus sighed from his position on the bunk on the far side of the room. “You, me, and Callus are in the Brig.” He said sharply his tone reflecting how much trouble he knew they were in.

The throbbing made her feel like her brain was going to blow out her ears. “Oh…” she groaned opening her eyes to look around. “how the hell did we wind up in the brig?”

Maridus huffed as Nov sat down on the edge of the bed Sidda was lying on. “Well, you know; Callus hit on an Asari dancer, got into a fight with her Turian mate, you and I went over to pull him out, a few more Turians insulted you, assaulted you, threatened to have their way with you, you and I downed a double shot of whatever the hell we were drinking and started a fight.”

“Succinct.” She muttered with her hand over her eyes.

“The General is gonna kill us.” Nov mumbled leaning forward putting his elbows on his knees. “I’m gonna be scrubbing the deck with my tongue for the rest of my career.” He droned and Maridus scoffed to him leaving out the ‘we’ in that statement.

“Not just you. You’re not the one who sees him every morning in the CIC, you’re gonna be cleaning the deck with your tongue and I’m gonna be doing shit work for the foreseeable future.” Maridus grumbled and Sidda brought her left leg up at an angle to get more comfortable.

“What are you two so worried about? It’s not like Victus hasn’t landed in a bar fight before, he’s a general for Christ sake.” She stated and Maridus shrugged, she was right about that.

“Oh, no, the General can cut it up when he wants to and has on many occasions but he warned us before left the ship. We’ve done this before; last time we were here the General had to come get us also.” Maridus explained and looked at Nov. “And as I recall it was Asari related last time too.”

Nov shrugged innocently. “Don’t blame this on me.” He said and gestured back to Sidda. “She started it. Sidda may be joining us in our collective shit work.”

Maridus scoffed at that last comment. “I don’t think so. She’s exempt from shit work for other reasons.”

Sidda caught his tone and thought about killing him. “Damar.” She warned and Nov looked from Sidda and then over to Maridus, he was missing something.

“Alright, what’d I miss?” Nov asked and Sidda kept a glare on Maridus who simply chuckled.

The far door opened and the person Nov and Maridus had been dreading appeared. Victus quietly walked toward the cell with a guard on his right to unlock the cell. By the look on his face they could see they were in trouble as he was less than thrilled with all three of them.

“Oh, shit, Dad’s mad.” He muttered and Sidda chuckled. Both Nov and Maridus shot to their feet and stood at attention. The quick movements from Nov made his lingering hangover announce its presence, he closed his eyes to shake of the dizzy feeling and remained at attention.

Victus eyed his two officers and glanced to Sidda but returned his attention to the two he warned. “What part of stay out of trouble did you two not understand?” he asked as the guard opened the door and made a quick exit. “Three marines from the _PFS Centurion_ are in the infirmary, 700 credits damage to Oblivion, and I had an unpleasant comm chat with the commander of the station informing me that if you two ever land in this brig again because of a bar fight you will remain in this brig until he and I are satisfied you’ve learned your lesson.” He snapped as Sidda struggled to sit up without losing her stomach contents, he looked past them and to Sidda judging how she looked. “They also tell me that you started the fight, Commander.”

Sidda managed to sit up and swing her legs over the edge of the bed when he said that she looked up at him. “Assholes had it coming.” She replied and Victus stifled a smile, she was a Turian trapped in a human’s body no doubt about that and he returned his attention to his two officers.

“Get back to the ship; you’re restricted to quarters until further notice.” He ordered. “Dismissed.”

Nov and Maridus saluted and headed out quickly with no question. Victus looked at Sidda carefully standing and making her way toward the exit, her knuckles were scraped and bruised but she didn’t have a mark on her face, they had won the fight and he was proud of that. Perhaps even more proud that she backed up his men in a bar fight. “Are you okay?”

  
She looked up at him wishing both that her brain would stop trying to pound its way out of her skull and that he wasn’t so damn tall. “I’ll let you know after my head stops hurting.” She said as he lightly, discreetly touched her right arm.

**

The ships rec room was a good size it was where most of the crew spent time when they weren’t in their rack or on duty; right now the majority of the ship was still enjoying leave so it was empty. With the exception of a very hungover human with her head down on the table half asleep, her head hurt so bad that it could be prudent to see Dr. Holum but she didn’t.

“That was fun, Callus, thank you.” Maridus said and Nov shot him a nasty look.

“Hey, I wasn’t the only one rolling around on the floor breaking tables, bottles, and bones.” Nov hissed in response and Maridus knew that, it just made him feel better blaming the whole thing on a junior officer. They rounded the corner and saw Sidda face down on the table, both stopped and cocked their heads; if they were human the expression would be read as puzzled.

“Sid?” Maridus questioned cautiously. “How’s the head?”

Sidda said nothing but moved her right hand up from its position next to her face and flipped them both off. The Turians were unfamiliar with the gesture so the question had to be asked. “And what does that mean?” Nov asked.

Sidda looked up at both of them looking like pure owl shit. “It means ‘fuck you’.” She informed dryly and Nov let out a good laugh. “Where have you two been?”

Nov and Maridus scoffed, they knew Victus was gonna have their ass but they were never really prepared for the ass chewing that came after being bailed out of the Brig by your commanding officer. “We just spent an hour getting our punishment from the General.” Nov said sitting down and putting his right foot on the edge of the table.

“Why are you guys so afraid of him?” she asked, her voice muffled because she was still face down on the table. “He’s a General for crying out loud, he’s seen it all including bar fights, disobeyed orders, and time in the brig.”

Maridus was finished rummaging through the rec rooms refrigerator and came up with the next best thing to a soda for Turians. “Oh, come on, Sid,” he started and sat down next to Nov sending the cap to the bottle across the room with a flick of his fingers. “you’re sleeping with him you have nothing to worry about.” He said and immediately regretted hat he said, how the hell could he have let that slip?

“Damar!” she exclaimed in shock as her head shot up to glare at him, he was visibly cringing waiting for the explosion.

The revelation initially bounced off of Nov but it sunk in after that and he looked at her shocked. “Fuck! I knew it!” he exclaimed loudly and she gave them both a burning glare.  
“I am gonna kick your ass.” She hissed toward Maridus.

Maridus knew she was gonna beat the crap out of him. “Sidda-…”

“You’ve got two minutes, you overgrown Vulture, start fucking running.” She snapped cutting him off, Nov was doing his best not to laugh out loud and become a target for her hostility.

He couldn’t resist. “Why give him two minutes, Sid, just kill him now?” Nov asked doing his best to egg her on and Maridus glowered at him.

Sidda turned her look to Nov, her head was still throbbing and all the movement now was making it worse. “Because it’s gonna take me that long just to get the hell up.” Nov tried to stifle his laugh and failed.

“Sid, relax. Just relax, it’s only Callus…he’s not going to say anything and if he does I’ll kill him.” Maridus said trying to save his plated hide from a slow and painful death.

Nov looked to him like he’d been betrayed and scoffed. “Hey, I’m not the one with the bucket mouth, Boss, you are.” He fired back and Sidda finally made sense of what Nov had said and turned her attention to him.

“Wait, wait, wait, you said you knew. How did you know?” she asked hoping that no one else had the same idea.

Nov sighed with a shrug. “He just seems happier now that you’re onboard.” He said. “His demeanor changes when he sees you, for as long as I’ve known him he’s always had that grouch appeal to him but that changed when you showed up.” Sidda was now worried that everyone on board knew about this, having a relationship with the commanding officer of the ship she was serving on was probably the worst idea she’d ever had, but she couldn’t help it, there was something about Victus that she was attracted to.

“Great.” She droned and decided that killing Maridus would have to wait until her head stopped hurting. “Damar, sleep with one eye open tonight. My head hurts too bad to kill you right now.”

Nov chuckled looking at her now with eyes other than the critical ones he’d used when they first met. “Sidda, if all human women are like you I’m gonna give up Asari all together and move to Earth.” He said and Sidda put her head down on the table again.

That wouldn’t do him much good. “Don’t bother, Cal, I’m not from Earth.” She said flatly. “I’m a Navy brat, raised on ships never made it to Earth until I went to the academy.”

Maridus got up from his seat and went to get something to help Sidda’s head. “Can’t imagine what it’s like to spend an entire childhood on a ship.”

“Why? Where are you from?” she asked as Maridus put some water in front of her. Normally, he would have given her his cocktail to cure a hangover but because of the levo/dextro DNA difference it would probably kill her and he didn’t really want to take that chance.

“I am from Palaven.” Maridus stated and sat back down in his seat as Nov rocked back in his chair.

“He’s a stuck up rich kid.” Nov put in and Maridus ignored that, Nov didn’t mean anything by it and it was true none the less.

Sidda downed the water quickly and looked at Nov. “What about you?”

Nov was a part of the Turian minority; if she knew anything about the cultural pecking order she’d know that. “I am from a small colony, the furthest away from Turian space, called Rylo.” He replied. “Very small colony.”

Sidda felt like passing out now, she’d burned all her energy on yelling at Maridus. “Alright, guys, I’m gonna stagger my way to my quarters and die for the next 12 hours.” She stated and slowly stood making her way out.

**

The _Lante_ was in port with a skeleton crew on board, Victus was irritated with the problems with the ship but repairs were progressing relatively well. The hour was late but he wanted to see Sidda, wanted to check on her, mostly he just wanted to be around her. Maridus and Nov got her in a bar fight and while he was more than impressed with the outcome of that mess, he still wanted to kill them for it. She could have been really hurt. Her door wasn’t locked and he smiled inwardly tapping the control to open it then locked it behind him.

The room was dark and Sidda’s pounding head was getting better, by the sound of a light easy snoring he assumed she was asleep. He took his tunic off and slipped into bed behind her letting her sleep off her hangover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as I wrote this, with regards to Nov, I drew on Chris Pine's version of Captain Kirk. Especially the bar fight scene. So if y'all are curious about the model for Nov it is Chris Pine as Kirk.


	4. Worst Kept Secret

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Four: Worst Kept Secret

 

Sidda stirred in the bed and rolled over bumping into the other occupant in the bed. She froze, confused opening an eye to see where she was and who was with her. When she went to bed with a pounding head she was alone, now she had a bedfellow. She had a very good idea who it was but was at a loss as to when he got there. Thankfully her head didn’t hurt anymore but she had no clue what time it was.

The movement in the bed woke Victus up and he put an arm around her. “When did you get here?” she asked and he pulled her toward him.

“Sometime last night.” He replied softly. “Damar told me you, and I quote, ‘staggered off to your quarters’. When I got here your quarters were unlocked and you were passed out.”

She groaned to what she remembered. “I may never drink again.” She added. “Dextro stuff packs a wallop.”

Victus let out a chuckle and nuzzled the side of her neck. That had become a favorite spot to nuzzle and bother while on his way to bothering other places. “Maridus told me how much you drank. I’m actually surprised you’re not dead.” He said lightly licking her collarbone.

Sidda smiled to the tickle of his tongue. “It was pretty sketchy there for a little while.” She said and his hand started to rove over her body. “And speaking of my brothers in barfights, they were complaining of a punishment you gave them. What’d you do to them?” she asked as his talons lightly tickled her stomach, she stifled a few giggles as he moved on somewhere else.

“They have to clean the armory.” He answered simply and Sidda thought by their complaints it was somewhere along the lines of cleaning the latrine.

“That’s it?” she asked a little let down by the dreaded punishment and he paused.

“They have to clean the whole armory. Everything. Weapons, armor, all of it.” He said and she brought her left hand up tracing her fingers over his horn crest. “Should take them all day.” He continued with a bit of purr, he was enjoying her light touch.

Sidda was still unimpressed with the punishment. “By the way they reacted I figured it would be worse.” She commented and he enjoyed her touch moving down his neck and to his carapace.

“They’ve had worse.” He replied. “They’ve had everything from mopping the floor to sorting laundry.”

She chuckled realizing that Nov and Maridus were his problem children on the ship. “So why was I left out of the Administrative Punishment?” she asked and he propped himself up on his right elbow looking down at her.

“Because I didn’t order you to stay out of trouble and this wasn’t the third time I’ve pulled you out of the brig.” He explained and she smiled, she wasn’t looking for any special treatment from him. She snorted as he rolled out of bed and started putting his clothes on. “Get up.” He said and she cocked her head to him.

“Why?” she asked. “We’re still in dock…we can spend the morning in bed.” She purred with a seductive tone and he paused looking at her. She wasn’t wearing much and she was only half covered with a blanket but her legs and underwear clad ass were exposed. He said nothing as he contemplated his options. “What?” she asked feeling almost self-conscious under his eyes.

“I’m thinking.” He replied making her laugh. “Get up. We’re having breakfast on the station.”

“I thought you had to babysit the repairs?” she asked leaning over the bed trying to find where all her clothes landed in her semi-hungover state.

“That’s the beauty of having Maridus confined to the _Lante_.” He stated and Sidda laughed out loud.

**

 _Zinith_ Station wasn’t Victus’s favorite place for leave but it had some few attractions he enjoyed. He’d been to Oblivion before and had too much to drink so for him the bar wasn’t the issue. His crew of handpicked special operatives had a tendency to lose their minds on the station and he normally hauled them out of the brig the next day. One benefit to having Maridus under his thumb more than usual was handing him the responsibility of babysitting the repairs, he wanted to take some time and spend it with Sidda. They were kind of doing this relationship thing backward, they were still in the process of getting to know the other, however, the huge question of could Humans and Turians even have sex had been answered with a huge resounding yes.

Zollya was the local resturant that serviced the Asari as well so there was a good chance that levo based food would be served. With the guidance of a very helpful Asari waitress they found a dish that actually tasted good.

“Why aren’t you married?” she asked looking across the table at him.

Victus didn’t get the human term. “Married?” he asked and took a sip of his drink.

“Mated?” she offered and he nodded understanding now.

“I was.” He answered his tone quiet and quick. Sidda figured he had been bonded at some point because of the bite mark on his right upper shoulder. As she had learned, that was the equivalent to a Turian wedding ring.

“What happened?” she chanced, she didn’t want to push him into anything uncomfortable but she did want to know more about him.

Victus wasn’t uncomfortable, it was a fair question, he had long ago come to terms with his former wife’s death he just didn’t want to go into it right now. “She died.”

Sidda was satisfied with that answer so she backed off her probing. “Sorry.” She said and paused for effect. “Any kids?”

Victus nodded. “My son Tarquin.”

“Is he anything like you?” she asked her smile kind and sweet as she thought of what he would be like with children and he snorted.

“I hope not. The Hierarchy seems to only want one of me.” He replied and she allowed a quiet laugh.

“Yeah, I heard you’re a bit of a wildcard.” She said and he shrugged, it was his reputation and he liked it.

Victus was intrigued by her; there was something about her that was addicting as a drug to him. “Well, I guess we both have reputations that preceed us, Sidda.”

There was a quiet pause as their breakfast continued. A few Turians eyed them and Sidda could see them looking as they passed by, a few members of the crew noticed them as well and whispered to themselves but weren’t stupid enough to say anything with the General there. “So, I asked you a personal question. Do you have any questions for me?”

He had to be honest; he did have one looming question. Sidda was a Turian trapped in a human’s body, she was as tough as they came and bound by the same honor code he was, and if she was single he wanted to know why. Either human males didn’t find her strength attractive or there was something wrong with her. Everything he’d seen in her he loved, she was exactly what he wanted in a female, Turian or otherwise. “Same question.”

Sidda sighed; this was the same question she fielded on every date she’d been on lately. “I’m married to the Alliance. Born into it, raised in it, military’s in my blood and makes it hard for relationships to work, much less a marriage.” She told him and he liked her answer. It was more like he understood her answer and liked the fact that she was bred military just like he was.

“Sid, you and I are very similar creatures.” He said and put his left hand on her right hand. “I like that.”

Sidda couldn’t help but smile and felt her face get hot as she blushed, he was the perfect man. She’d been looking for him for her entire adult life; the issue was she was looking in the wrong species.

With the _Lante_ repaired and now in working order they departed from the space station and resumed their course returning to their section of Turian space. Sidda was learning how to fight like a Turian under the instruction of the best fighter on the ship. Adrien Victus. Sidda had improved drastically over getting her ass kicked by Nov then Cerrus then him. She was working up a sweat sparring with him and employing the things that he had taught her and scored a great hit with a punch to the left side of his face knocking him back. He caught himself and dabbed a trickle of blood away from his mouth. “Nice hit.” He praised and she shook her right hand trying to shake the pain away.

“God you got a face like a rock.” She complained as the knuckles ached.

 _“Gen. Victus to CIC. Gen. Victus to CIC.”_ The intercom said and he groaned to himself.

“Tough being the boss.” Sidda stated as he collected his things and headed toward the CIC.

 

** 

 

As part of their punishment for practically disobeying the warning given by Victus both Nov and Maridus were relegated to the armory. This was a tedious practice and one that was everyday for them, their penance was cleaning the armory but it wasn’t that simple. They were charged with cleaning every weapon, piece of armor, and spare part that was present in the very large room. The first day they did this it didn’t seem so bad, however now it was day three and their own personal hell. Cutting corners also wasn’t an option for them since Victus would inspect everything after they were done and neither one of them wanted to find out what would happen if Victus found a cut corner.

“Callus,” Maridus began in a flat tone while putting his hundredth rifle back together.

Nov was just as irritated with this detail as his cohort was. “Yes, Sir?” He replied but didn’t look up from the pistol he was cleaning.

“I really hope she was worth it.” He said growing very tired of Victus’s special detail.

Nov was silent as he thought a moment then turned to look at Maridus. “I honestly don’t remember.” He replied and Maridus paused also with an ‘are you serious’ expression. He couldn’t help but laugh and pretty soon they were both laughing.

The armory door opened and they saw Sidda walk in. She was wearing the blue casual uniform of the Alliance and her hair was pulled back into the braid, this was the first time in a long time they’d seen her face with no bruising or cuts on it. “Hey Boys, what's the joke?”

“Oh this _lovely_ detail we landed in and he doesn’t even remember what she looked like.” Maridus said and Sidda chuckled.

“Are you kidding? I had so much to drink that night I think the guy I was fighting looked like Kermit the Frog.” She replied dryly as they both gave her a puzzled expression, they didn’t understand her reference and she shook her head. “Nevermind.”

“So what brings you down here with us criminals, Sidda?” Nov asked and she peered over Maridus’ arm to see what he was doing then moved on.

She moved around to the weapons bench they weren’t using and leaned on it. “I’ve come to extract you.” She announced and they paused looked at each other and then to her. “We have a mission. We’re in route to a planet called Rorrvin, it has a-…”

“Geothermal Plant.” Maridus cut in and she nodded a little hesitantly.

“It’s gone dark. We don’t know why.” She continued and nothing would make Nov happier than to go on a mission and get the hell out of the armory. “ETA is one hour so suit up, Cal. You too, Damar, Victus says I’m gonna need your tech.”

**

Rorrvin was a hot planet and very seismically active, the Turians had put an outpost on this planet long ago and it functioned well for a long time. The problem was it was no longer transmitting reports back to Palaven and that was a cause for concern. Argo Unit along with Maridus took one shuttle down to investigate the facility.

Rorrvin had a red hue to it that reminded Sidda a little of Mars but something was definitely wrong. “Whoa.” Maridus commented looking out the forward view port. “That’s some serious volcanic activity.” He said and Sidda stood next to him to see what he was looking at. “Check the atmospheric conditions.”

Balin hit a few buttons and waited a second for the sensors to do their job. “Breathable but toxic after too much exposure…and it’s pretty hot out there too…not quite as hot as Palaven but it’s getting there.”

The shuttle landed and they stepped out onto the landing pad. Sidda took in a breath and coughed. “Oh, damn.” She said with another cough. “Let’s hurry up; I don’t think my lungs can take this planet very long. Callus, take Tobius, Rajin, and Zek and see you if you can find the staff.” She ordered and coughed again, now she wished she’d brought her helmet. “Damar and I will go and retreive any data from the mainframe.” Nov nodded and headed off with his men as Sidda and Maridus headed toward the main complex.

 

Inside the complex the atmosphere was less toxic, or at least, Sidda was breathing easier, which meant the staff had a hope of being found alive. The power in the complex was on emergency so it was darker than expected. Nov and his unit moved through the halls toward the living quarters to see if the staff was in there, it was a logical place to be aside from medical. Lt. Deliah Rajin had point, she was a Tech Sentinel and the team’s Medic, she was the smallest of the group but by far the best shot with a pistol and, aside from Sidda, she was the only other female on Argo Unit.

She reached the door and tapped it but was denied access. “Locked.” She said back to Nov and he moved forward to bypass the door.

It took him a few seconds to bypass the lock and they entered finding all five of their targets. “Deliah,” he said gesturing to Rajin, she was their medic and all of the scientists looked to be in rough shape. He knelt down by the Asari. “Doctor, can you hear me?”

It took a few minutes for Rajin to report that the four Turians and one Asari scientists were alive but in bad shape. “We gotta get them out of here, Lieutenant.” Rajin said and Nov got on the comm to Sidda.

“Commander, we found the staff, alive but not good.” He reported quickly and waited patiently for her response.

“Understood, Cal, get them out of there and back to the shuttle, we’re almost to the mainframe.” She replied and followed Maridus through the halls; it was almost like he’d been here before. “Have you been here before?” she asked as they made it to the main computer hub to access the data and save it so all the work here wasn’t a total loss.

“Yeah, about seven years ago, I was temporarily assigned for a few months.” He replied and bypassed the security on the mainframe door. “Not much has changed.” They walked in and he immediately getting to work on the computer.

A few minutes passed as the data uploaded to his omni-tool. “There’s a sensor on the platform that has more recorded data, a backup for the seismic and atmospheric data, I suggest we grab that too.” He suggested and Sidda nodded. He was impressive with tech and hacked the main computer with ease, she never figured him for a tech but apparently he was as good with his omni tool as he was with a Sniper rifle. The facility shook violently, enough to almost shake them off their feet, it passed within a few seconds but left them both with an uneasy feeling.

Things got eerily still and quiet and they both had the same feeling. “Yeah, I suggest we get it now and get the hell out of here.” She said and Maridus tapped the door control.

“After you, Commander.” He stated quickly as another quake hit lasting a little longer than the last one.

“Guys, wrap it up, we gotta go.” Sidda ordered into her comm. “Nov, get those people on the shuttle and pick us up on the east platform.” She added checking her position with the layout on the omni-tool.

 _“Copy that, Commander, enroute now.”_ She heard him reply.

Maridus and Sidda move with purpose to the sensor pylon, there was a sense of impending disaster in the air, she didn’t know about Maridus but she sure as hell didn’t like it. They were halfway there when the platform rocked violently causing them both to stop and take time to steady themselves. Just as they got themselves steady the landing pad rocked again and the whole thing shifted down.

“Forget it!” Sidda shouted realizing what was happening. “Let’s go!”

They both spun and started running back the way they came, it was now a soft incline but that was a serious cause for concern. The platform was collapsing, being a seismically active planet she now knew what was going on. As they were running back toward level ground the platform shook again and causing the sensor tower they had been bound for joined them, falling right in front of them. The impact from the tower falling made Sidda lose her footing and fall backward as Maridus fell forward after trying to catch her. The platform shifted more, adding a steeper angle and causing them to slide down and Sidda looked down the platform to see their new heading, a chasm.

“Damar!” Sidda yelled. If they fell into the chasm they were both finished. Maridus was her friend and she was gonna be damned if he was gonna die on her watch. “Damar! My hand!” she yelled again extending her left hand as far as she could reach. “Damar!”

They were nearing the edge and both were running out of time. Their fingers touched and she gave one last effort to catch her friend before he went over the edge. He was finally able to get ahold of her and she locked onto his wrist as he did the same. Maridus hit the edge and went over as grabbed the nearest thing to keep her from going over. She got a firm grip on a communication pole and prevented them both from death.

Sidda let out a painful yell as the weight of a Turian in full armor hit her left arm. The pain was excruciating and she tried to let it go but that was easier said than done. It wasn’t just in the left arm, it was in the right too, but she couldn’t let him go; that could kill him. “Oh!” she exclaimed in pain. “Oh my, God.” Everything else that wasn’t secured down fell into the chasm but thankfully noting wiped them off the edge.

“Sidda.” Maridus questioned, very concerned but greatly relieved.

“Oh, God this hurts.” She replied through a grimace of pain.

Maridus tried not to swing figuring every little movement would be terribly painful for her and could cause her to let go. “Hold on.” He said and the only thing that went through her mind was the obvious retort.

“I’m not going anywhere.” She grimaced out and let out a yell of pain as he swung to get his feet up onto the angled ledge.

“I’m sorry.” He apologized as he missed the ledge and swung more.

Sidda was finding it hard to hang on with both arms but understood what he was trying to do. “Oh, don’t apologize, just hurry up.” She grunted out.

 _“Shepard? Maridus?”_ Nov asked through the comm, he was in the shuttle and probably had front row tickets to that little display. _“You guys okay? Where are you?”_

“Yeah! We’re okay!” Maridus replied then recanted his statement quietly. “For now.” Maridus tried again to get up onto the ledge and relieve Sidda’s arms.

She bit back the pain coursing from fingertip to fingertip, the more he moved the more it hurt. All she had to do was wait until he could get onto the ledge. Something had to be broken or at the very least dislocated but she couldn’t do anything about that now. Her lucky catch kept him alive and that was the bottom line. “Oh….Damar.” she whimpered out through clinched teeth. His target was a communication stand about a foot from her feet.

 _“Hang tight, Commander.”_ Nov said through the Omni-tool. _“We’re bringing a shuttle down to you.”_

Neither one of them responded, Maridus knew he had to find his own support because it was a fluke she was able to catch him and hang onto him in the first place. “Sidda, I know it hurts but I need you to swing me toward your feet.” He instructed and she could help but whimper in pain. “I can’t reach the antenna cluster on my own.

She was trying to keep a clear and focused head, not giving into the pain and letting him go. “Alright.” She grunted, feeling the sharp, tingling, tearing, and buring coursing from fingertip to fingertip. “Just say when.”

Maridus focused on what he was aiming for. “Now.” He said and she mustered all the strength she had left to force her left arm to swing him toward her feet.

Maridus let go and caught the cluster poles with both hands steadying himself easily on the structure. Now he couldn’t get to her, if he tried to stand on the edge of the platform he’d slide off again. All he could offer now was moral support for her to hang on. “Just hold on, Sid.” He said and she heard him but didn’t respond. She really did want to respond to all this ‘hold on’ and ‘hang tight’ she was hearing. “You die on this mission the General will have my head decorating the bow of the Lante.”

Sweat was beading on Sidda’s forehead, between the heat of the planet and the pain that she was in it was a miracle she hadn’t passed out yet. Maridus held his precarious position but kept a close eye on her. He made his way as close as he could without going over the edge just incase he needed to catch her. Sidda could see the Turian shuttle hovering down to them and the side door open. Nov held out a hand to help Maridus on and reached back to tether himself to the shuttle as they sidled up close to Sidda.

“How’s it going, Commander?” Nov asked using his humor to help lighten the mood.

Her entire torso hurt but felt better now that Maridus wasn’t dangling from it. “Oh, you know…just hanging out. Enjoying the view.” She replied trying to crack a joke or two and Nov let out a soft chuckle as the shuttle got as close as it could. He leaned out and used his reach to slip his right arm under her back.

“Little lower, Balin.” Nov shouted to the pilot so he could drop the shuttle down to an easier height to transfer her over to the ship. The pilot complied and Nov got both arms around her. “Alright, let go. I got you.” Sidda released herself and Nov held onto her tight as Maridus helped pull him back.

She couldn’t even move her arms they hurt so badly. “Oh, thank you, Cal.” She breathed out; she needed a serious pain pill right now.

“Anytime, Sid.” He said gently sitting her down.

**

Victus was getting a little annoyed with always following Sidda’s missions with a trip to the Medical Bay. He entered the bay and looked at his ships doctor then to the medical bed with Sidda in it; Maridus hadn’t strayed far from the person who saved his life. “Doctor. Major.” He greeted.

“General.” Dr. Holum greeted. Holum was the same height as Victus with a very light face and black face paint that resembled Victus’ but quite as intricate.

“How is she?” he asked, trying to sound as detached as possible. So far their relationship had gone pretty well unnoticed which is how he wanted it.

“The Commander dislocated both of her shoulders, several ligament and tendon tears primarily in the left arm.” Holum told him, he was a professional man. He had more of an indifferent opinion about Sidda. “She is sedated for now. Restrict her duty for a few days and then she’ll be fine. No permanate damage.”

Victus gave a slight nod and looked over at Maridus. Holum picked up on that and shifted his focus to his second patient. “Maj. Maridus is none the worse for wear. Hyperextended right arm, nothing trivial. The scientists are okay, concentrated oxygen and they’re fine.”

Victus nodded and gestured to Maridus to leave. “Right.” Maridus said. “Come, Doctor.”

Victus looked over to her bed at the other end of the room and locked the door then hit the privacy button on the windows making the glass cloud. The scientists had been tended to and all but two of them were in seeing to the data recovered by Maridus at the Science Station in the CIC. He made his way over to her and looked down at her medication induced sleeping body. She was beautiful, human or not she was beautiful. She was an interesting creature; Sidda would do anything if it meant protecting someone, her selfless act to save Maridus showed her true self. He brushed a lock of brown hair from her forehead then sat down waiting for her to come out of her sedation.

Around an hour later, Victus hadn’t left the medical bay but had found something to do. He linked his personal files to a Medical Bay console next to her bed and was reading over messages.

She stirred in the bed and he looked over at her. “I don’t know what he gave me but it was good.” She said and he shifted over to her.

“Hey.” He greeted. “How are you feeling?”

“Nothing right now, but I’m sure as soon as I move that’ll change.” She said looking at him. “How’s Damar?”

Victus looked down at her and shrugged slightly. He was falling love with her and he was sure his expression told her that. “Insufferable.” He replied and she laughed. “Couldn’t you have let him fall?” he joked.

“Certainly would have been less painful.” She answered with a laugh. “I tell ya…it’s a new kinda pain feeling a big Turian in full armor hit the end of your arm at a high rate of speed.” She commented and he allowed a few chuckles.

There was a pause as he waited to talk. “You’re a brave woman.” He said honestly. “I love that about you. I never thought humans could-…” he trailed off but she figured out what he was getting at.

“Be that brave?” she finished and offered him a smile. “There’s a lot about us that you Turians don’t know, but you have no idea how alike we are.”

**

Sidda was tired of sitting or lying in bed in the medical bay so she attempted walking. Holum was a brilliant doctor and mastered medication for a human; that being said whatever he gave her was some good stuff. Her left arm hurt more than the right did, it felt a little bit like dead weight but Holum assured her there was no permanent damage. Her left arm was in a sling but her right wasn’t, sitting up right was a small challenge but she refused to take more medication to make the pain go away…she didn’t like the feeling of being drugged to the gills.

The medical bay door opened and she looked over seeing Maridus and Nov walk in together. “Well, look who’s awake.” Nov greeted in a cheery tone. “Last time I saw you, you passed out in my arms.”

Sidda chuckled to his comment. “Don’t flatter yourself, Cal, I was in pain.”

“Oh, come on, Commander, that was nothing.” Nov replied and absentmindedly slapped her left arm causing her to hiss and cringe in pain.

“Ow!” she grunted and glared at him.

Nov realized his accident and received a very hard punch to his right arm from Maridus. “Ow! Damn!” Nov exclaimed glaring at Maridus.

“Nice going, Dumbass.” Maridus scolded.

Nov was rubbing his right bicep still feeling the impact of Maridus’s hit. “I’m sorry.”

“So what’s the damage? When are you getting out of here?” Maridus asked glaring at Nov then turning his attention back to Sidda.

“Whenever I can twist or bend without excruciation pain.” She replied. “Holum keeps trying to feed me pain pills but I keep wondering if the dosage is right or he’s trying to kill me.”

Nov scoffed. “Holum wouldn’t dare kill you because then Victus would kill him. If there’s one thing we know is self preservation comes in at number one with Dr. Holum.” He stated and could feel Holum glaring at his back.

“I heard that.” Holum stated from his seat at his desk across the medical bay. “I’ll have you know, Commander, my previous posting was on the Citadel. Your people have invaded that station so I learned about human physiology. If I wanted to kill you I’d choose other ways to do that.” He stated and Sidda glared over at him.

“Touché, Doctor.” She hissed and they heard a low chuckle from him.

**

A few days later, Sidda’s arms felt better. The medication the Turian’s had worked well to heal her slew of painful but minor injuries. It had been about three months since she’d been on board and her reputation had gotten better. She’d won over most of the crew by her actions alone; the unexpected thing was developing a relationship with Victus.  
Now she needed to be evaluated by Holum to make sure her arms were fit for duty. “Come on, Doc, it’s been a week. Am I cleared or not?”

Holum sighed out his irritation. “Commander, you lead one of our ground teams, your arms need to be fully healed before I put you back out into the field.” He said and she shook her head annoyed with how long it was taking. “I need to run a few tests, check and make sure there are no lasting tendon and ligament problems. Human physiology is not my specialty but your people are relatively simple to figure out.” His tone had some venom to it but it wasn’t that he was being mean, he was a brutally honest man and very irritable.

Sidda gave him a glare. “I could punch you, would that speed things along?” she asked in a grumpy tone that made Holum look up at her and cock his head.

“Commander, you have the personality of a Krogan.” He stated and she folded her arms across her chest.

“So get me out of here, clear me for duty and I won’t have to kill you.” She replied and he stopped what he was doing and tried to decide if she was kidding or not.

Holum snatched up a datapad and tapped a few keys on it. “You’re more like a Turian than you think, Commander.” He said and she gave him a sardonic glare. “You’re clear for duty.”

**

In the training room she saw Maridus working out by himself. “Hey.” She greeted and walked toward him.

paused and turned looking at her, she looked different, happier…or satisfied, he couldn’t tell which “Hey. Look who’s up and about.”

She nodded and took the tunic top off so she could work out better. “Yep. Holum gave me a clean bill of health.” She began and stretched the sore arms out a little. “Had to get out of there anyway, Holum’s got the personality of an Elcor.”

Maridus chuckled slightly to that. “He certainly knows what he’s doing though.” He commented and took a drink of water before looking her up and down. “Thank you, Sidda.” It was about the tenth time he’d said that referring to catching him on Rorrvin. “I know I’ve said it before but…thank you.” She nodded to him. “Solana is more than grateful and she asked me to thank you.”

Sidda gave him a smile with a nod. “Tell her it was my pleasure, Damar.” She said and moved to the mat gesturing for him to spar with her. In all the time she’d been on board she’d never sparred with him. He was usually the moderator of the sparring to make sure nothing got out of hand.

Maridus didn’t typically spar with anyone, he could fight but he was a little higher than average. When he did it was usually with Nov or Victus but he accepted her invite. He set up and they started easy, she’d learned how to handle a Turian in a fight but it was still difficult for her, they were bigger, strong, and faster. She blocked his attacks and used Victus’s instruction taking the fight to him, aiming for feet and keeping him as off balance as she could. He backed off noticing she had improved; he knew she’d been training with Victus so he stepped up his game.

He attacked her and she blocked him stepping into his attack like Victus had taught her, she trapped his right arm under her left arm and spun toward him flipping the big Turian over her shoulder and onto his back. Maridus hit the ground with thud and a groan.

“Well done, Commander.” Victus praised walking up to them. They didn’t see him enter but she was happy that he was there. “Very nice counter.”

She gave him a flirty smile as Maridus slowly got it his feet. “I had a good teacher.” She flirted.

Victus smiled. “You’re an excellent student.” He replied back knowing she was flirting heavily with him.

Maridus groaned. “Would you two like me to leave?” he asked and she giggled. It was good to be able to speak freely with Maridus, he knew all about their relationship and approved.


	5. The Proverbial Rabbit Hole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the first of many a few appearances from Nihlus Kryik. He was just too good not to add him.

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Five: The Proverbial Rabbit Hole

 

A few weeks after the disaster on Rorrvin the ship was relativily quiet, they’d been sent to mediate a few desputes on along the boarder but nothing too major. Sidda spending the night in Victus’ quarters was a regular thing now, she had grown even closer with him and most of the crew could see it but none had said anything. Spending the entire day in Medical after she chased Maridus down a collasping platform didn’t do much to steer rumors away from their relationship. He very much enjoyed her company and they spent a lot of time getting to know one another. They had quite a bit in common, they both were born military and they both had powerful parents.

The chime of an incoming message rousted Victus awake. “What?” he grumbled to the darkness.

 _“Sorry to desturb you, Sir, but message coming in from Councilor Sparatus.”_ Ruvio reported and Victus grumbled more looking over at Sidda, she was still sound asleep.

“Give me a minute and patch it through to my terminal.” He said and got up pulling some clothes on. If the Councilor was calling him this late whatever it was wasn’t good. He made his way over to the desk and straightened his tunic. “Put it through, Zara.” He said turning the light on and the screen changed to Councilor Sparatus.

 _“Gen. Victus.”_ Sparatus stated.

“Councilor, what can I do for you, Sir?” he asked trying to make it sound like he wasn’t still half asleep by being as professional and direct as possible.

 _“General, your ship is the closest that can help and your crew is the most capable.”_ Sparatus said and Victus cocked his head.

“What’s the problem?” he asked and Sparatus could appreciate him wanting to get to the point.

 _“General, this is Council business, one of our Spectre’s needs transportation and…I’d like him to have some support.”_ Sparatus explained and Victus nodded. _“The Hierarchy informs me your ship is near Vendabar Station.”_

Victus nodded tentatively, that station was listening post near the edge of Turian space. “Yes Sir, a relay jump away.”

 _“Set course for Vendabar immediately and pick up Spectre Nihlus Kryik. He will fill you in on the rest of the mission.”_ Sparatus ordered and Victus simply nodded again in silence. _“Good hunting, General.”_

The screen went black and Victus sighed, his night was cut short but he saw no reason to wake Sidda. He quietly pulled on his proper uniform and left his quarters heading to the CIC. It was the middle of the night but the CIC had the night watch on, the ranking officer on duty was his pilot Lt. Zara Ruvio; she had a dark face yellow-orange eyes and yellow face paint on her mandibles only.

“Zara,” he began while walking into the CIC, she spun not expecting him to be there. “set course for _Vendabar_.” She was one of the few crew members he was on a first name basis with, she saved his life on a mission and from then on she had been assigned to his ship.

She was confused but didn’t question the order outright. “Yes, Sir.” She replied as he moved next to her, Zara could smell Sidda on him and didn’t approve of the relationship, no one told her she simply figured it out. Victus was a Turian and Sidda was a human, it was an unnatural match and an insult to everyone who served in the Relay 314 Incident. Zara’s parents served in the war and carried that family grudge against humans though her grudge wasn’t nearly as violent as Cerrus’ was, but it wasn’t her place to question her superior, no matter how she felt about it.

“Can I ask why we’re heading to _Vendabar_ in the middle of the night, Sir?” she asked as he brought up his private terminal.

“Council business.” He replied quickly. “ETA?”

“Three hours to the relay then two to _Vendabar_.” She replied and he nodded.

Victus sighed hoping that there was something in his messages that had more details than just ‘meet Spectre Kryik and he’d fill in the rest’ but there was nothing. “Alright, you have the conn; remember _Vendabar_ has an automated defense grid transmit the ident code as soon as the ship exits the relay-…”

“So we don’t get blown to hell.” Zara finished nodding. “Yes, Sir, I remember.”

Victus patted her left shoulder. “Call me when we exit the relay.”

She nodded knowing he was returning to Sidda, her body language told him she wasn’t pleased with his extra curricular activities but he could care less that was a benefit of being a General.

He knew he probably should have stayed on the CIC but there was nothing he could do while the ship was in transit and there was no place he’d rather be than with Sidda. He’d only felt like this for one other female, the fact that this one was a human was a major surprise for him since he’d killed more than a few during the 314 Incident.

**

Maridus took the lift to the CIC wondering what the general alert that rousted him out of bed was for, General Alert could have meant a few things, normally it was for entering a zone that had a potential for being hostile. When he went to bed the ship was in a non-hostile zone, something must have changed during the night. The lift door opened and he looked around the CIC not seeing Victus. “Ruvio,” He began seeing her monitoring the comm station. “what’s going on?”

“Major,” she greeted not looking up. “we just exited the Vendabar Relay.”

Maridus cocked his head confused. “Why are we going to _Vendabar_?” he asked and looked over her shoulder as she encoded the identity codes and began broadcasting.

“The General came up a few hours ago and had me change course; said it was ‘Council business’.” She explained and he gave a single nod, ‘Council Business’ was rather vague.

Maridus tapped a few keys on the console. “Where’s the General?” he asked as he practically took over the console from her.

“Probably with the Human.” She muttered in a hostile low tone.

He looked over at her trying to figure out her tone. “What’s your problem?”

Ruvio grumbled to herself. “Nothing, Sir.” She hissed but Maridus didn’t buy it.

Maridus didn’t look away and eyed her. “Let’s have it, Lieutenant.” He ordered and she looked up at him quickly then back down at the console.

“Him and the Human…it’s disgusting. Unnatural.” She said and Maridus let her have her opinion, it was a fair one but it was also one that he did not share.

“Lieutenant, first off her name is Shepard, not Human. Second, she’s the only female, Turian or otherwise, that he’s even looked at since I’ve served under him.” He said but she still didn’t agree with it.

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it, Major.” She replied and he simply looked at her shaking his head to narrow-mindedness of some of his people.

The lift opened and Victus stepped off ending their discussion on the spot, so long as Ruvio didn’t do anything that would get her in trouble her opinion didn’t matter. Victus’ relationship with a human certainly was popular but they weren’t hurting anyone or putting their respective militaries in jeopardy so it was no one’s business but their own.

“Major, status?” Victus asked and his second in command turned to him.

“Sir, we’ve exited the relay and are broadcasting security and authentication codes on specified scrambled frequencies.” Maridus reported as Victus looked over the consoles as he moved.

“We haven’t been blown out of the system yet?” he inquired and Maridus chuckled to that.

“No, Sir, codes must be right.” He chuckled and they both laughed. That inside joke had some truth to it; _Vendabar_ was a highly classified and secured installation with a very specific procedure for approach and with that and very finicky automated defense grid protecting it. When the station first went online some years back there was a miscommunication between the Hierarchy, the Turian Cruiser, and the _Vendabar_ defense grid. The end result was a heavily damaged Cruiser after the defense grid damn near blew it out of the sky and an embarrassed Turian military.

“ETA?” Victus asked, tapping a few buttons on the console to check progress himself.

There was a pause from Maridus and he confirmed their position. “A little over an hour.” He answered and asked the same question he’d already asked Ruvio. “Why are we going to _Vendabar_? When I went to bed we were still in our own little corner of space, why detour to this pain in the ass station?”

Victus sighed and turned to his second in command. “I got commed by Councilor Sparatus, he instructed us to go to Vendabar and pick up a Spectre and escort him on Council business.”

Maridus heard ‘Spectre’ and began to wonder. “Who’s the Spectre?” he asked.

Victus knew why he was asking this. “Nihlus. We’re going to pick up Nihlus.” He said and Maridus tossed his head back with a chuckle.

“Oh, yes! About time, I haven’t seen the Council’s prodigy in years.” He joked and Victus knew Maridus would be happy to see his old friend.

The lift door opened and Sidda appeared, when she stepped off the lift the CIC guards stopped her. “I’m sorry, Commander, you can’t be here.” The sergeant told her and Sidda cocked her head confused. She’d never been turned away on the CIC before.

“Come again?” she asked confused and the sergeant looked back to Victus.

“Sir?” he asked and Victus looked up toward the situation. He saw Sidda but duty restricted him and shook his head to the guard. “I’m sorry, Commander.” He said and pressed the lift button gesturing for her to leave the CIC.

As the lift door closed she heard an incoming hail. “General, the _PFS Ramora_ is hailing.” That ship was one of four frigates that were part of _Vendabar’s_ oribital defense. The Ramora was a heavily armed ship with one purpose, battle. Her firepower would suggest a Dreadnaught but her size said Frigate. She was also one of the oldest ships in the Turian Fleet, over 40 years in service she’d seen battle in the Relay 314 Incident and was responsible for several destroyed Alliance vessels. Despite the _Ramora’s_ awesome firepower she was joined by three other ships that shared the 24 hour guard, the _Cherivus_ , _Etilus_ , and _Marso_ all powerful in their own right but no where near as threatening as the _Ramora_.

Victus eyed the lift door and made sure Sidda was not on the CIC. “Open a comm.” He said. “This is the PFS Lante; we are here on Council Business.”

There was a pause on the line as the commander of the _Ramora_ confirmed orders and codes. _Vendabar_ was the most heavily guarded and defended location in the Turian military with the exception of Palaven. The work that went on here was the most classified and most sensitive so protection was the number one concern with this. _“Welcome to Vendabar, Gen. Victus, it is an honor to have you, Sir.”_ A female voice said and Victus got that a lot, he was very popular amongst the troops but not with the High Command. _“Follow your present course, Sir.”_

He didn’t respond to her praise and nodded to Ruvio, who had assumed her place behind the helm.

 _Vendabar_ was technically a Space Station since it was a large asteroid that the Turian military had set up a base on, that base grew over the years as the work that went on got more and more classified and important. It was a weapon testing center and dangerous research lab. Rumors flew that biological, chemical, and other weapons of mass destruction were researched and developed here. Biotic weapons were another major rumor along with torture, gruesome and brutal alien studies, the wild imaginations were endless with an installation like this but the bottom line was it was very important and very guarded. From a view screen _Vendabar_ looked like a metal asteroid since the base’s size had quadrupled since it was built, it was damn near the size of the asteroid itself surrounded by defense cannons and an orbital defense mesh that were kin to mines if the ship wasn’t tuned to the right broadcast. The four frigates made the place very uninviting, in the several years it had been active no one ever tried to take the station. Since the Relay was practically mined and hard to find by chance most races were taught to avoid the Vendabar Relay.

Nihlus Kryik boarded the _Lante_ and was greeted by Maridus, Nihlus was a highly respected and decorated Council Spectre…he was also an old friend of Maridus’. They were assigned to the same unit once upon a time and remained friends afterward.

“Nihlus.” Maridus greeted extending his hand to him. “Welcome aboard.”

“Damar.” He smiled and shook his hand nodding to him. “The Councilor said he was sending a ship but he didn’t say it was going to be you.”

Maridus shrugged. “Apparently he rousted the General out of bed and sent us out here.” He replied as he and Nihlus began to walk and talk down the corridor. “Speaking of which, what are you doing out here? _Vendabar’s_ not exactly a Spectre hang out.”

“Well, I’m gonna need to talk to Victus about that.” He said and Maridus gave him an unsatisfied nod. “I haven’t seen you in a while…anything new?”

He shook his head. “No, not really. Solana is good, her father is still as insufferable as he always is, her brother still works for C-Sec…”

Nihlus nodded to that. “Yeah, I’ve seen him.”

**

Nihlus hadn’t been on the _Lante_ in a very long time but the Turian frigate hadn’t changed much in the time he had been away. The ship was still the same; most of the people that he knew when he was aboard were no longer there with the exception of the teams, Victus tended to hang onto people he liked working with.

“It’s been a long time, General.” Nihlus greeted shaking his hand respectfully and Victus nodded pleased to see his former subordinate again.

“How are you, Nihlus?” he asked looking him up and down judging how he looked. “Special Tactics seems to suits you.”

Nihlus nodded, to be honest he was very happy with his job now, he never quite fit in with the military. “Fine, Sir, thank you.” He replied and nodded. “Thank you for the pick up also.”

That brought them to the 65,000 credit question. “Councilor Sparatus was rather vague about your mission details,” Victus began as Maridus leaned against the wall saying nothing, he knew even less than Victus did. “Care to fill in the gaps?”

Nihlus nodded and proceeded to explain his mission to his former commanding officer.

Nihlus still believed he didn’t need back up, all he needed was a ride that could leave the system. However, Victus insisted he take back up with him and wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Nihlus’ compromised and settled on taking Maridus with him but Victus wanted him to take more help, so Maridus suggested bringing Sidda. Given the unpredictable nature of Nihlus’ mission it didn’t put Victus at ease but he had complete faith that Sidda could handle herself.

“I don’t need back up, Damar.” Nihlus said for the hundredth time since Victus practically forced him and Maridus looked over at him with a scoff.

“Too bad, the General said go so I go.” He said as they made their way to the Training Room, Maridus had a feeling that’s where he’d find Sidda. Since the crew had gotten more accustom to her they eased up on her and began to _train_ her rather than beat her.

“So who is Shepard?” he asked. “Strange name for a Turian.” He muttered afterward.

Maridus shrugged as they rounded the corner heading to the door to the Training Room. “That’s because she’s _not_ a Turian.” He said as the door opened and Maridus cocked his head to what he saw. “Okay, that’s something you don’t see everyday.”

Nihlus wore the same expression, it wasn’t everyday that one happened upon a 6’7” Turian floating three feet off the ground. Nov was in a biotic field and experiencing the next best thing to flight, Sidda was in front of him with her right hand up looking up at Nov concentrating on what she was doing. “Yeah…that’s new.” Nihlus agreed and they both approached the biotic display.

“Hey, Callus, Sid… what’s going on?” Maridus asked and looked from her to him and back again.

“I’m flying.” Nov laughed, he seemed to be having a great time defying gravity with the aid of Sidda’s unique powers. “Or floating…but either way.” He added looking down at the height he was at. “This is cool…you should try this. Hi Nihlus.”

Nihlus allowed a laugh at how excited Nov was while being suspended in the air. “Callus.” He acknowledged as Sidda turned her attention to the new Turian but gently lowered Nov back down to the deck.

“Been a long time, Nihlus.” Nov said shaking his hand and patting his shoulder.

Nihlus nodded. “It certainly has.” He replied as Nov turned back to Sidda.

“What else can you do?” he asked curious about her biotics. “I mean besides death and destruction.” He added referring to the first hand knowledge he had about just what she could do with her biotics. “Anything fun?”

Sidda shrugged. “I could launch you into the bulkhead.” She said. “It would probably kill you.”

“And would probably be fun to watch.” Nihlus commented making Maridus laughed, his comment made Sidda look over at him with a chuckle.

“Funny.” Nov replied sardonically. “I missed you too.”

“Sid, this is Nihlus Kryik. Nihlus, this is Cdr. Siddalee Shepard; Alliance Navy.” Maridus introduced and she nodded to him with a pleasant smile.

“Pleasure to meet you.” She said and shook Nihlus’ hand. “What was that all about in the CIC?” she asked Maridus.

Maridus sighed he couldn’t talk about it, not the part about picking up Nihlus, but the location they did so. “Classified facility.” He said to her and she allowed a dissatisfied nod. “Don’t take it out on him, he didn’t have a choice.”

Nihlus expression narrowed looking from Maridus to Sidda and got the destinct impression that statement didn’t refer to any of the ‘hims’ in the room. The new question rolling around in his head was why was there a human on a Turian ship? And why did Maridus suggest her to go with them on his sensitive mission?

“Nihlus is a Spectre and Victus wants us to watch his back on his mission.” Maridus explained and she nodded acknowledging him.

Sidda looked Nihlus up and down sizing him up, his face paint was very similar to Victus’ and his green eyes were striking against his dark skin. Nihlus was around the same height as Maridus and Victus. Nov was taller than them both but not by much. Their height didn’t mean too much to Sidda since she felt like a shrimp next to everyone onboard. “What’s the mission?”

“He’ll breif us on the way down. ETA’s six hours, get your gear ready.” Maridus ordered as Sidda looked from one to the other and nodded. “And Victus wanted to see you.”

Sidda nodded to Maridus and still looked Nihlus up and down before heading out of the Training Room, Nihlus was a striking Turian and she’d be lying if he didn’t have a certain appeal to him. When the door closed Nihlus turned back to Maridus. “Why is there a human on board? And why is she going with us to a senstive mission?”

“Well, the _humans_ name is Sidda.” Maridus corrected. “She’s a part of an idea to improve Turian and Human relations, Sparatus’ idea, he picked the ship the Alliance picked the officer. She’s a hell of a soldier, Nihlus, and effectively saved my life on Rorrvin.”

“But this is a classified mission. It’s Council and Turian business, Damar.” Nihlus questioned expressing his concern over her being on this mission as Nov made himself scarce, this was a conversation he wasn’t a part of so he got out of the way.

Maridus understood his concern but knew that once Nihlus got to know her they were going to get along famously. “She’ll be fine, Nihlus, you two are going to get along great.” He saw the expression on Nihlus’ face and knew he wasn’t totally satisfied. “If Victus didn’t trust her he wouldn’t have signed off on her going.”

Nihlus didn’t understand but he trusted Maridus and Victus. “Okay.” He said relenting to him but still had questions about her.

**

The shuttle shook a few times as it broke the atmosphere and Sidda looked from Maridus to Nihlus. Nihlus was in black and red armor which made his clean white face paint stand out even more, Maridus was in his usual armor, it was supposed to be black and dark orange but the armor had been through a lot so the paint was a scraped away and or warn off. The front was still scratched up from his slide down the platform on Rorrvin. Sidda had noticed that Maridus’ armor differed from everyone else’s on the _Lante_. The ship had solid black armor but his was black and orange. “So, where are we going?” she asked and Nihlus looked up then to Maridus.

“This planet is Nabewa it’s one of the largest intact Prothean ruins in the galaxy, its Council protected and a neutral place for all species to send Archeologists to study the ruins.” Nihlus explained. “I’ve been looking into several disappearances of Turians in neighboring systems; the Hierarchy turned it over to the Council due to the crossover of systems. Sparatus put me on it and I have traced the disappearances to a central point, all the disappearances are set within one or two jumps of this system which is damned odd since there is nothing in this system besides Nebewa.”

Sidda thought a moment. “How many have gone missing?”

“About 50…could be more that weren’t reported.” He replied and she nodded.

“So why did the Council send you? Why didn’t the Hierarchy take care of it?” she inquired and it was a fair question.

“Because it’s a Council protected planet, Spectres are the hand of the Council and they don’t answer to anyone but the Council so they can operate at will and do whatever’s necessary for their investigation.” Maridus said and Nihlus nodded he couldn’t have explained it better.

“Major,” Pelonis called back. “we’re approaching the main dig site but I’m picking up a power signature a few kilometers north.”

Maridus looked to Nihlus, it was his show now. “Take us in.” Nihlus said and stood pulling his shotgun to check his weapon again. The shuttle shook again and he grabbed the nearest thing to steady himself. Sidda followed his lead and checked her Phaeston then put it back on her back preferring the Brawler for now. He still didn’t know what to do with her, she was a biotic but that did little to color his opinion of her, he didn’t know her but Maridus trusted her and there were few people in the galaxy that Nihlus trusted Maridus being one of them.

When the shuttle touched down the three of them departed quickly allowing the shuttle to head back to the _Lante_. “ _Lante_ this is Shepard, we’ve landed.”

There was a momentary pause before a response. “Understood, Commander.” Victus replied. _“Keep me informed, Lante out.”_

**

Nebewa was a desolate planet, not a shrub in site, the soil was dark brown and the stone wasn’t much different. The color palate of the planet was dark and dreary, even the sky had a dark hue to it. Maridus was tapping several times on his Omin-tool trying to find the source of the mysterious power signal.

“You got it, Damar?” Nihlus asked and Maridus was silent for a moment as the omni-tool indicated where the signal was coming from.

“I’m picking it up but there seems to be some interference.” He said sounding perplexed about whatever was causing the interference.

“Maybe it’s an archeology team.” Sidda suggested and the two Turians looked at each other and shrugged.

“Could be but I doubt it.” Nihlus said. “Let’s go check it out.”

As they moved into the small ruin Sidda got her first up close look at ancient ruins. Mars had ruins but she never really got to see them first hand. She followed Maridus in and Nihlus was behind her, the ruin was probably a building at one point but there were only walls still standing. Inside the ruin, however, there was a passageway entrance.

“Whoa.” Sidda stated looking around the high walls of what was left of the building, even in shambles it was a colossal building, she looked toward the passageway that Maridus had stopped at.

“Through here.” He directed and looked back at the other two. “Still have that interference though.”

Sidda’s brow furrowed as she looked over her surroundings. “Maybe that’s the interference.” Sidda said and Maridus turned to look at her.

“What?” he asked and Sidda gave him a strange look.

“What do you mean what? The interference you were talking about…maybe its stone; power source could be underground.” She reasoned and Maridus couldn’t believe he had been so dense.

Nihlus smirked to Maridus. “Well, I’m glad we brought the human along seeing as how she’s smarter than I am.” Maridus huffed and Nihlus chuckled along with Sidda.

“Been in the CIC too long, Damar? Let your skills get rusty?” Nihlus asked and received a glare from Maridus.

“Second in command of the _Lante_.” Maridus boasted. “Special ops.”

Nihlus cocked his head at his friends’ vain attempt to one up him. “Council Spectre. One of the best.” He replied.

Sidda shook her head. “Really guys?” she asked putting her hands on her hips.

**

As they moved down the passage the room got a little darker but the Prothean architecture allowed for some natural light to come in. How that was possible was a mystery to her but she wasn’t here to figure out how a 50,000 culture created light in their structures. The passage descended down at an incline to a round room about 10 feet in radius with another passage across from them, Sidda turned a circle as she walked looking around the room. It had high ceilings and seemed to be intact with the slots of light coming in from all directions.

“Wow.” She stated amazed at how grand it looked.

“I’ll say.” Nihlus said agreeing with her comment.

As they moved toward the far wall and the passage opening the three of them heard an ominous groan from below them. They stopped and cautiously looked around them and Sidda looked down at her feet. The stone floor underneath them cracked and sank as if the weight of Nihlus, Maridus, and Sidda was too much for the million year old architecture.

“Oh, shit.” Sidda and Nihlus said at the same time.

“Move!” Maridus shouted and they all tried to jump back toward the threshold they just passed through but it was pointless, the floor gave way and took them all with it.

The three of them went careening down a wide tunnel losing all orientation of which way was up. The ride was rough as they hit every bump, rock, and outcropping there was on the way by, their armor protected them from the inevitable road rash but the thick cloud of dust was suffocating. The armor was, however, no match for the ending impact.

The tunnel let out under them and gravity took over, Nihlus found the abrupt stop first, landing left shoulder first and accordioned up into a heap. Maridus was second and landed a little to the right of him feet first. He hit the ground just right and wound up adding insult to injury by rolling down the incline and smacking into the cavern wall. Last, was Sidda, she exited the tunnel in a twisted, contorted state landing about where Nihlus was. The only noise heard after everyone came to a halt was the rushing rockslide of boulders, pebbles, stones, and about a ton of dirt that covered them as everything went silent. Various groans echoed through the darkness as they all tried to determine if they were in one piece.

“Alright,” Sidda began coughing out some dust and dirt. “who’s not dead? Sound off.”

Maridus grumbled and groaned as he peeled himself off the cavern wall rising to all fours. “I think I’m in one piece.” He coughed out spitting out the mouthful of dirt he’d inhaled on the trip down.

It was pitch black and the only thing that could be seen was a dull orange glow from the lights on Maridus’ armor. Sidda was in a twisted position on top of whatever it was she landed on. Everything hurt either from the ride down or the damn boulder she landed on. “Nihlus, you alive?” she asked the darkness, not sure where he was.

“Ow.” She heard from somewhere close to her, actually very close to her.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” She replied trying to right herself. She twisted her body so she could use all fours to push herself up; still unsure what the hell it was she landed on that made her back and side hurt like hell. “What the hell did I land on?” she asked out loud as she pushed herself up, it didn’t feel like rock.

“Me.” Nihlus managed out as she had all her weight concentrated on his chest. “Get off.”

Sidda pushed off his chest and rocked back into a straddle sitting position over what was probably his lower body. Maridus couldn’t pass up and obvious snipe at his friend for that comment. “I wonder how many females said that to you, Nihlus.”

Nihlus walked right into that one and had to admit that was pretty funny but his left shoulder hurt and he was still gathering his thoughts so he wasn’t really in the mood. “Shut up, Maridus.”

Both Maridus and Sidda chuckled to his reply. “I think I lost my pistol on the way down.” She said trying to see through the dark. “Anyone got a light?” she was feeling around on both sides of her in cold dirt but didn’t find anything.

Nihlus was still on his back and due to the way his shoulder felt he was content to stay that way for a little while, he felt the shotgun still in place and reached down for his sidearm. He pulled the pistol and clicked on the light. It cut through the darkness to show Sidda still straddling his waist. “Comfortable?”

“Very.” She rebuffed following his idea and pulled her rifle clicking on the light.

She saw Maridus’ Omni-tool light up and he tinkered on it for a few moments until it glowed bright and stayed that way, bright enough to see around them. Sidda rocked back to her heels and slowly stood up straight letting everything creak and crack back into place. Piles of dirt fell off her back and shoulders and she reached down with her right hand to help Nihlus back to his feet. He took her hand and she set back pulling him up. He grunted in pain letting go of her hand to cradle his left shoulder for a moment.

“You okay?” she asked and he brushed off the pain with a nod.

“Fine.” He answered simply, looking around the cavern.

She didn’t believe him but turned her attention to trying to find her pistol lost somewhere in the loose soil. Maridus moved toward them and grabbed Nihlus’ right arm activating his omni-tool, after a few seconds of tinkering with it like he did his own Nihlus’ omni-tool glowed the same as Maridus’. The extra glow helped Sidda track down her weapon and she pulled it from the soil. She got to her feet and turned to Maridus offering him her left arm so he could rig her omni-tool to glow as well.

“Tap the Omni-tool twice and it’ll stop glowing.” Maridus instructed and she nodded but Nihlus didn’t respond to him. Maridus knew he heard him and it wasn’t uncommon for him to not reply.

“Does anyone have any idea where the hell we are?” Nihlus asked looking around the cavern with the light on his pistol.

Sidda was wondering the same thing he just beat her to the punch. The temperature had certainly changed instead of warm desert air on her face it was chilly crisp air. She edged forward shining her light on the ground to see what was in front of them.

“Maridus to _Lante_.” Maridus said trying to contact the ship; they had no idea where they were and extraction sounded like a good idea. “ _Lante_ this is Maridus, please respond.” He repeated and there was still no response from the comm. He grumbled and tapped a few more keys on his Omni-tool; he was the tech of the group so if anyone could figure out the issue with the comms it was him. “Comms are down.” He said and then tapped the omni-tool some more. “And there’s about 50 meters of rock between us and the surface.”

Nihlus grimaced as he moved his left arm but bit it back and turned to investigate the area. “Great.” He said and moved over to where they dropped out of the ceiling. He looked up at the opening they fell through trying to see if they could get out that way. “And I don’t think we’re getting out the way we came in.”

“Hey, guys,” Sidda called, she had worked her way away from the landing point down about 30 feet from them using her light as a guide. “come take a look at this.”

Maridus and Nihlus made their way down to her; she was crouched down looking at something on the floor. “What’s up?” Maridus asked and she shined the light on the floor.

“Man made floor.” She said brushing a layer of dirt away from the smooth masonary that was seen in the buildings above. “So to speak. Look at the walls, smooth, reinforced.”

Nihlus and Maridus agreed. “Ancient Prothean city, they liked to build underground.” Nihlus said. “Damar, do you still have a read on that power signal?” He asked and Maridus nodded. “Then let’s go find it.”

“Wait, we don’t even know if we’re gonna find anything down here.” Maridus said as Sidda stood up looking to Nihlus then to Maridus. “We need to find out how we’re going to get out of here.”

“If the Protheans made this it’s gotta come out on the surface somewhere and if there’s a power source down here they had to get it down here somehow.” Sidda said but the thought of going deeper underground didn’t make Maridus feel comfortable at all.

Sidda looked at him and cocked her head. “What’s wrong?” she asked reading the look on his face.

Nihlus turned to see why she had asked that question. Maridus stammered trying to answer her question, it was something he didn’t like about himself but everyone had their quirks. “Well…I uhhh…”

Nihlus figured it out and scoffed, it was refreshing to see that somethings never changed. “You still have that issue, Damar?” he asked.

Sidda was confused and looked from Maridus to Nihlus. “What issue?”

“Damar doesn’t like small spaces.” Nihlus said and Sidda scoffed to herself.

“Great, I fall through a floor, take a ride down a tunnel, and now I’m stuck down here with a claustrophobic Turian.” She stated and they looked at her but there was one word neither one of them understood.

“Claustrophobic?” Nihlus asked.

“Human term: Fear of small spaces.” She clarified quickly and looked back at Maridus.

They had it wrong. He glowered at them annoyed partly by their ribbing and also by his own fear. “I’m not afraid of small spaces, guys, I just don’t like being underground.” He clarified and huffed.

“Okay fine, a Turian afraid of the underground, remind me to thank Adrien for a lovely weekend.” She snarked and Nihlus allowed a laugh.

“Don’t blame him,” Nihlus began. “It was his idea to bring you along.” He added pointing to Maridus.

Sidda looked over to Maridus as Nihlus moved away from them following the tunnel which could now be classified as a passageway. “Damar, are you okay?” she asked moving toward him. He really didn’t look okay; he looked as uncomfortable as they came.

“No.” he answered bluntly. “No. I’m not. I really don’t like being underground, Sid.”

Sidda nodded but there was no choice. “I’m sorry; man, but we need you.” She said patting his arm.

Maridus sighed and nodded. “Yeah. Yeah. Okay.” He said gestured for her to go ahead of him.

“Just don’t go bugo on me and freak out, okay.” She asked and walked toward Nihlus to catch up with him.

Maridus would have liked to say he could comply with her request. “I make no promises, Sid.” He muttered uncomfortably.


	6. Hellhound

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little bit of character creation trivia here. Maridus was created to be open minded and this stories version of Garrus. He is the only one I didn't model after or use a voice for. I still have no idea who a model for I'm should be. Into the third part of this long running story and I still don't have a model or a voice for...he exists purely in my head.

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Six: Hellhound

 

It was pitch black everywhere their lights didn’t touch. Nihlus kept a close eye on the ground to make sure they still had a place to step and didn’t have a repeat of their journey down. Sidda was behind him using her interface to help figure out what was around her, her omni-tool was still lit up and the light on her Phaeston was on so the area immediately around her was pretty well lit. Maridus was behind her trying not to freak out about the fact he was underground, way underground.

“Damar,” Nihlus began. “can you pinpoint the power signal?”

Maridus checked his omni-tool and shook his head. “I’ve got a reading on it but can’t pin it down. It’s big and got some weird interference…more than the stone.”

“Alright, Alice, down the rabbit hole.” Sidda muttered and Nihlus paused looking back at her with a puzzled expression. “It’s a human thing, don’t worry about it.”

As they continued to walk down the path, Sidda relaxed a bit she still couldn’t see much but the lights they had rigged allowed her to see Nihlus’s back. “So, Nihlus, what’s your story?” she asked and he cocked his head back to her.

“Story?” he asked almost absent-mindedly as he kept his attention on point. They didn’t know what was down here and if it was part of his investigation he’d just as soon not talk.

“Yeah, how do you know Damar?” she asked trying to make conversation.

Nihlus didn’t really want to talk. “We were assigned to the same unit.” He replied quickly and quietly.

“Yep, see Nihlus here is a lot like you, Sidda, doesn’t know when to follow orders, and stubborn as a Krogan.” Maridus said and Nihlus shook his head.

“Good thing for you, Damar. Remember who saved your ass that day.” Nihlus said.

“Right. Sid, Nihlus is a hell of a soldier but didn’t fit with the Hierarchy’s way of doing things. They told him to sacrifice a unit and he told them to go to hell…for which I am immensely grateful for saving my life.” He explained, all the talk was annoying the hell out of Nihlus. “The Hierarchy, however, doesn’t like it when orders are disobeyed. How many times did they transfer you for that?”

“Three.” Nihlus answered now stopping until Maridus had finished telling his story.

“Then he was spied by a Spectre and the rest is history.” Maridus went on ignoring the obvious irritation from the quiet Spectre.

Nihlus allowed him to tell the story but now it was time to work. “Yep.” He huffed. “So now, if you two are finished with the chit chat can we get back to the mission at hand. We don’t know what’s down here and I’d rather not announce our presence to the entire the entire planet.” Nihlus said and Sidda looked back to Maridus who snorted.

“By all means, Nihlus, lead on.” He said and Nihlus turned to go back to his path finding. “And yes, he’s always been a bit moody.” He added hearing an audible groan from his friend.  
“So how do you know Nov?” she asked letting her curiosity get the better of her and Nihlus grumbled turning toward her.

“We all served on the _Lante_ at the same time.” Nihlus answered sharply. “Now please, can we move along and not talk?” he hissed and Maridus chuckled at how irritable his friend was.

**

The farther they ventured into the underground Prothean ruin the colder it got. Sidda crinkled her nose a few times to keep blood flowing to the first part of the body that froze, it was cold enough for breath to be seen and for Sidda she was used to the cold; she could handle it better than the space Raptors from the intensely hot planet of Palaven. About 10 minutes of walking in darkness they all saw a dim glow off of one of the passageway walls up ahead.

“That’s uhh, quite literally the light at the end of the tunnel.” Nihlus said and Sidda paused cocking her head to him.

“He cracked a joke.” She muttered and Maridus let out an airy cackle.

“He does that every now and then.” He replied with a low tone and Sidda smiled following Nihlus.

The mood of the group changed to serious as something new was literally right around the bend. Nihlus crouched down hugging the wall as they approached the bend. The light got brighter so they turned off all extra lighting from themselves. Sidda changed walls and peered around the corner; she didn’t see anything and gave a nod to Nihlus, Maridus moved up also to cover both of them. When Sidda decided there was nothing of danger that she could see she gestured to Nihlus and he stood and swinging around the corner.

“Damar, how’s that signal?” Sidda asked with what she called a ‘mission voice’, soft but loud enough to hear.

Maridus tapped a few times on his omni-tool. “Hasn’t moved, but the signal is getting clearer…and stronger.”

The three of them entered the room slowly; it was a lab, no doubt about that. Several consoles and a few exam tables were the dead giveaway. Maridus scanned the room with his Omni-tool and determined the results. “This room is the source of the signal.” He stated and kept his guard up.

Sidda didn’t lower her rifle, something was wrong. Where were all the people? Who would put a lab under a Prothean ruin? Better question was why. “Most of these consoles are in sleep mode.” She observed but didn’t touch anything.

Nihlus was a little more settled than the other two and kept his shotgun lowered as he looked over the exam tables, something smelled wrong; he took in a whiff at exam table and the smell unnerved him. “Turian blood.” He commented and Maridus turned to look at him as Nihlus ran his fingers along the edge of the table and came up with the remnants of dried Turian blood.

Sidda blinked a few times, she now had a bad feeling about all those abductions Nihlus was sent to investigate. “Yeah.” She muttered and returned to her sweep over the tables and consoles on the other side of the room. She found tables with wicked looking, almost barbaric but precise, instruments on them. “Yeah, that’s fucking creepy.”

Maridus had the same sense as he approached a console tapping on it to wake it up. “This is bad, Nihlus; lets figure out what the hell this place is and get the hell out of here.” He stated. “Give me a minute to hack the feed and capture the data.” There was a pause for a few seconds as Maridus bypassed the security on the console and let his Omni-tool mine the computer for whatever data it could get. As they were pretty much lost in a Prothean ruin he began to search for a layout so they could find a way out.

“What are you doing?” Nihlus asked looking over his shoulder as Sidda took up position as a lookout.

“Trying to find us a way out.” He answered and Nihlus watched the screen as he worked quickly. “Definitely a covert research lab, don’t know who’s though.” Sidda was ever vigilant keeping an eye open for whoever manned this place, the room they were in had only one way out so being on the ball looking for an ambush was the top priority for her. “Alright, I found an exit.” He stated and she briefly looked over to him before a noise in the corridor brought her attention back to the entrance.

A familiar but unwelcome item flew from around the corner and landed in the soil. “Grenade!” she shouted seeing the grenade tossed at her feet. She scrambled from her position and tried to run far and fast in the other direction but the high explosive was close enough to her that when it went off the force sent her flying forward head first into a console and everything went black.

Her quick warning gave Nihlus and Maridus time to avoid the blast, the thick smoke and dust cloud by the door concealed their movements but the attacker’s as well. It wasn’t going to last forever and they knew that. Seconds later a slew of humans poured in Maridus and Nihlus found themselves embroiled in a fight that contained everything from biotics to bullets. Their unknown attackers were human, that was about all they knew and a large portion of them were biotics. Nihlus fired a few back to back shots from his shotgun into a biotic in front of him. The young man was no match for the shredder rounds that he had loaded and dropped face first into the dirt. These people were well prepared and it couldn’t have been a coincidence that they attacked as soon as the three of them entered a room with only one way out. The option of fight their way out was abandoned as now they had been separated and couldn’t communicate.

He used the butt of the shotgun to fend off an attacker while letting the weapon cool down but was then hit by an engineer’s sabotage option overloading anything tech on him. That was followed by a biotic throw that tossed him back, he’d been hit with that before but this was different. Something else must have hit him because a searing pain coursed through his head and effectively incapacitated him.

Dazed and disoriented he landed on his back trying to find the other members of his team. He caught a glimpse of Sidda on the far side of the room but heard a god awful ruckus coming from the other side. Their unknown human attackers were having a hell of a time bringing down the highly skilled Tech Infiltrator, Damar. Nihlus’ vision went blurry as he drifted out of the land of unconscious thought.

Maridus was putting his Omni-tool to good use and hitting his attackers with an array of tech powers to sabotage weapons and shields, it was working but he was making minor headway. He may not have been the best at hand to hand combat but his skills served him when he had the need. As the last man standing he was swarmed and what little progress he made quickly disappeared. He sent a sabotage field out and that pretty much blanketed his enemy rendering their weapons pretty much useless. Facing a six on one mess, Maridus knew he was in some trouble but he was going to go down swinging no matter what. That was how he saw it; the humans were tired of the feisty Turian giving them hell.

The human to his immediate right moved to attack him with the butt of his now overheated weapon. Maridus grabbed his hand with his left hand and jerked him toward him sharply while raising his right elbow. The human was jerked right into Maridus’s armor covered elbow crushing his windpipe in one hit; Maridus then used the dying man’s body as weight and threw him into the group in front of him. It looked as if Maridus might actually get out of this but he was dealt a blunt hit to the back of his head under the horn crest. It was a hard hit that sent him to his knees and the blow was repeated twice more sending him face first into the dirt. His ears were ringing, that or his brain was trying to deal with the trauma of what was probably a rifle stock hitting him several times in the same place.

With Maridus finally subdued things around him went still and all he could see was feet, lots of them. “He’s an exceptional specimen.” He heard a woman say, she sounded human but he couldn’t see faces from his dazed position in the dirt. “Place him on an examination table.”

“What about the other two?” a man asked this one he vaguely saw, a human male, tall with dark skin and no hair.

“Take them to a holding cell. I want to question the human and we’ll see if the other Turian has anything to offer after I’m finished with this one.” The woman said as she knelt down in his line of sight. “Magnificent specimen.” She smiled and he knew damn well that being dubbed a ‘magnificent specimen’ was a very bad thing.

**

Sidda’s eyes slowly opened, she vaguely remembered exactly why the lights went out and felt a throb on the right side of her head. Her vision was blurry until she blinked several times trying to get her eyes and brain to clear up the connection, when it cleared she looked around. Stone walls that were just like the ones she’d seen earlier and a barred door didn’t evoke much confidence in their situation. As she continued to scan the room her eyes fell on Nihlus looking down at her, he was leaning against the wall about a foot away from her.

“Are you alright, Commander?” he asked and she attempted to sit up. A shot of pain coursed through her head and neck and she quickly lay back down with a yelp.

She grumbled back pain and decided to be honest with the Turian. “No.” she groaned. “Help me sit up.”

Nihlus complied quietly and moved next to her kneeling down taking her outstretched hand with his right hand and quickly pulled her up into a sitting position. The world spun as Sidda dealt with a major throbbing headache; because of her disorientation and sudden wave of dizziness she rested her head on Nihlus’s chest, she felt his body tense, unsure of how to deal with the human.

As she lingered there his discomfort became apparent. “Umm…are you alright, Commander?” he asked and she fought off a little nausea.

“Yeah…” she replied not really caring about how unsure or uncomfortable he was. “yeah, just give me a minute.” She’d had concussions before and that’s exactly what this felt like. As her nausea spell passed she raised her head looking around. “Where are we?”

Nihlus relaxed now that she was off his chest and used his right hand to gently touch her face turning it so he could see the obvious dried blood and wound on the right side of her head. “We are in a holding cell.” He answered bluntly and determined her injury, while painful in its own right, wasn’t life threatening.

Sidda finally realized they were missing someone and quickly scanned the room on all sides, regretting the sharp movements as soon as they happened. “Wait, where’s Damar?” she asked her voice full of concern and Nihlus sighed. She felt her insides tighten as he paused before answering. _“Please don’t let him be dead.”_ She thought to herself.

“I don’t know where Damar is.” He replied sounding unhappy with himself, this was his fault; he walked them into an ambush. “Last I saw of him he was fighting off a platoon.”

Sidda was worried but they needed to figure out what happened. “I don’t remember anything after the grenade hit, what the hell happened?”

Nihlus could only tell her what happened to him. “I don’t know what they hit me with but it knocked me on my ass. My head still hurts.”

“Do all Spectre missions go sideways like this?” she asked and he scoffed.

Nihlus was irritated and she could see it. “Not really. I usually work alone.” He replied getting to his feet still favoring his left shoulder.

That didn’t make her feel better; that meant that she was a bad luck charm on missions, hers or theirs. “Great, must be just me then.” She muttered and Nihlus looked down at her with a narrowed expression.

“Hardly.” He said. “I was the one who lead us into that mess.”

Sidda heard the tone and pegged it either as frustration or irritation with a little shame. “Not your fault, Nihlus, I’ll bet you anything that they didn’t even know we were here until we started fucking around on that console.” She stated and began to check herself over looking for what she still had. Obviously all her firearms were gone, her Omni-tool was gone leaving her with pretty much nothing to work with.

“I usually work alone, Commander.” He grumbled again and she just listened. “I told Victus I didn’t need any help. He’s still stubborn as a damn Shatha.”

Sidda paused with a huff and looked up at him. “Nihlus, if you would have come down here alone you’d be where ever the hell Damar is right now and no one would have a clue.” She admonished and smiled to herself as she found something on the inside of her left gauntlet.

Nihlus didn’t know what to do with her. Still, she had a point but couldn’t understand how she could be so positive about a situation that was royally fucked up. “Really?” he asked in a chastising tone. “Commander, we have no idea where Damar is, who these people are, no weapons, and we’re stuck in this cell.” Sidda heard all he said but only responded with a grunt making him cock his head to her. “Are you listening to me?”

Sidda nodded and held out her right hand. “Help me up.” Nihlus reached down and took her hand effortlessly pulling her to her feet. When she didn’t release his hand and stood very close to him he tensed looking down at her. “You’re wrong about one thing.” She said quietly. “We do have weapons.” She said and discreetly presented him with the boot knife she had hidden in her left gauntlet, a knife in the hands of a Turian was beyond a lethal weapon and her biotics could level the playing field if they got the chance.

Nihlus gave her a slight nod as he took the knife and slid it down into his right boot, concealing it from anyone’s view.

**

Maridus woke with a start, his brain still very much in tune with what had happened. He moved his head and felt pain in the back of his head under the horn crest, and then felt even more when he rested his head back on the chair. He looked around the room and saw a woman; she was a small woman of Asian descent with black hair and dark brown eyes. “My name is Tatiana Mason and you are in my facility.” She introduced, he recognized the voice as the one he heard just before he passed out. “Tell me your name.” the woman asked as she looked down at Maridus seated in a medical examination chair, his hands and feet clamped down with solid metal restraints, probably magnetic.

Maridus said nothing to her, humans would give the customary name, rank, and serial number but Turians were different; they were trained to keep their mouths shut even through the worst torture imaginable. All Mason was going to get from him was a gleeful ‘fuck you’ and his silence reflected that.

“Ahh, silence the military trait.” She commented. “No matter, they all start out that way.”

Maridus was trained Turian Special Forces, as part of his training they went through actual torture and interrogation for several days. It was a brutal few days that included all forms of torture from archaic to brand new but it was all to prepare him for a situation like this, the last thing he was going to do was crack. He gave her a cold expression, the closest comparison was that of a bird of prey eyeing its target, the predatory look from him was disconcerting to Mason but she brushed it off.

“Your markings suggest you’re from Palaven.” She spoke and got nothing from Maridus other than his piercing predatory glare. “Judging by your military prowess and the others you were with I’d say you are Special Operations, no rank, no insignia, high grade armor and weaponry. The fact that your team has a human on it is a little perplexing for me but I’ll get to her. This also means there’s a ship in orbit, that’s unfortunate.”

Maridus said nothing nor did he change his expression. He was gathering intel on them as they were trying to question him. Mason gestured toward the door of the room he was in and a few more people in lab coats walked in. “Begin the procedure.” She ordered and looked at Maridus. “I want to question the human and the other Turian.”

Maridus saw a scan commence and eyed the human manning the controls, his expression told the scientist one thing. Don’t get too close. The vibe that the Turian was giving off was nothing short of _I’ll kill you the first chance I get._

**

Sidda’s head was pounding but if this was all the injuries she was going to sustain during this mission she was grateful, Cerrus put her through more pain than this. She sat on the cold floor leaning up against the wall trying to figure out how to get out of this. “Once we’re pleasantly overdue the General will send a team down for us.” She said feeling a little better in that regard.

In a way she was probably stating the truth but Nihlus couldn’t help but hear that she was trying to convince herself of that fact. “Probably, if he can find us.” Nihlus replied. “We found this place by accident. He’ll probably send a team down but just like we could only read the power source in the lab he probably has no idea where the hell we are.” He told her and Sidda got the distinct impression that he knew Victus better than he let on.

“How well do you know Adrien?” she asked and Nihlus cocked his head to her surprised she called him by his first name, there was something between her and Victus that he could see.

“The General was my last commanding officer in the military.” Nihlus said quietly. “Tried to help me…Victus appreciates an officer who doesn’t follow orders blindly.”

Sidda understood that, Victus was a unique General who had the best command style she’d come across. “Didn’t go well?” she asked.

Nihlus shook his head. “On the contrary, Victus was the only commander I had that actually trained me.” He stated and Sidda allowed a half smile. “Not long after that I was approached by a Spectre named Saren; he freed me from the Hierarchy’s endless restrictions. That’s how I became a Spectre.”

His attention shifted sharply to the cell door and Sidda knew that look, he heard something. “Someone’s coming.” He said and she got to her feet as quickly as she could without help.

An Asian woman and two men appeared at the barred door. She looked at Nihlus and then to Sidda, she was more concerned with why a human was working with the Turians and started with that. “Who are you? And why are you working with Turians?” she asked looking at Sidda.

Nihlus knew how he would answer that but kept his mouth shut. “You first.” Sidda hissed in her reply.

The woman gave her a glare that didn’t affect Sidda in the least. “My name is Tatiana Mason.”

Sidda wasn’t going to give up information, this place with a research facility; anyone could see that and the research that was being conducted on Turians by humans. Sick, but there were still factions of Humans that wanted to retaliate against Turians for the First Contact War. “I’m sorry.” She replied. “I forget.”

Mason was growing tired of the lack of cooperation from them and looked to the other Turian. She knew his face, hell she knew the human’s face too. She couldn’t place Sidda’s but the Turian’s identity dawned on her. “Spectre Kryik.” She grinned realizing that was, indeed, the Spectre that had been dogging her work. “Welcome to my facility, Spectre, it’s nice you finally caught up with me.” Sidda looked to Nihlus then back to the Mason. “Let’s show Spectre Kryik what we’re doing here. Bring them both.”

Sidda looked to Nihlus and they both had a mind reading cession deciding now was not the time to try and affect their escape. Nihlus believed that Sidda’s biotics would be more than capable of getting them free of whatever guards.

**

The CIC on the Lante but quiet but Victus was pacing, it had been far too long for the ground team to be out of contact. He knew it was a Spectre operation and Nihlus was in command but even his former subordinate knew the importance of maintaining some semblance of regular contact.

“Zara, how long have they been out of contact?” he asked on his hundredth pace.

Ruvio sighed and looked over at him. “Ten hours.”

He sighed with an irritated growl. “Get Cerrus and Nov up here.” Ruvio nodded and did as he asked as Victus continued to pace.

About five minutes later, Nov and Cerrus stepped off the lift and onto the CIC, they had both been summoned which meant a handful of things but nine times out of ten it was related to a mission that went sideways. They both knew that Sidda and Maridus were on a mission with Nihlus so something must have gone wrong. “General.” Cerrus greeted with a nod, as the ranking officer between them he’d more than likely be in charge of whatever they were about to go and do.

Victus turned and looked at the two of them. “Ground team’s been out of contact for ten hours. Take your teams down and start a search. Try to establish contact.” Nov and Cerrus nodded to their commanding officer and left the CIC.

**

They were escorted by two guards and Mason into the room they had been ambushed in. Maridus was in strapped to the examination chair with a contraption of probes all around his head and there was a semi detailed scan of his brain on the monitor. The only hiccup to their escape was the fact that they were both handcuffed something they’d need to find their way around at some point.

“Observe, Spectre Kryik, once we are finished mapping your cohort’s brain we will start the same on you.” Mason stated as a charge went through Maridus’ brain, to his credit the Turian didn’t even make a peep despite the obvious pain he was in. The monitor above him lit up and more areas became detailed. “What better than to have a Council Spectre under our control?” She added and Nihlus changed the angle of his head to give Mason the same predatory glare of I’m gonna tear your heart out that Maridus had given her earlier.

Mason brushed off the look from Nihlus and looked over to Sidda. She was still the question mark. Why was she here? Who was she? She was very familiar but Mason couldn’t place the face. “Now, as for you, who are you and what are you doing here with two Turians?” Sidda remained silent as she tried to figure out what to do or even what to say.

“Ma’am,” the scientist controlling Maridus’s personal hell began as he too was interested in whom the human female was. “that’s Cdr. Shepard.” He stated and Mason looked sharply from him and back to her.

“Cdr. Shepard,” Mason began in a mixed tone of surprise and respect, she knew the face was familiar and now she knew why. “the Hero of Elysium. Ordinarily I would be pleased to meet you but my second question remains. Why are you here with two Turians?”

Maridus closed his eyes to regain his composure after the last shock and opened them to catch the gaze of Nihlus. Nihlus was a calm operator and had a plan in the works; hurdle number one was communicating that plan to Sidda and hurdle number two was not dying in the process. Maridus trusted Nihlus and hoped they had time to hatch a plan while he was stuck being probed.

“I was spying on them.” Sidda said making Nihlus turn his attention to her. “I was placed on a ship with them as part of an interspecies relations improvement mission. I was embedded as a spy.” Nihlus hoped to hell she was telling a lie otherwise she was going to be the first one he killed. He didn’t know her very well so, to him, anything was possible. “I can tell you where to get an army for your experiments.”

Maridus hoped that they bought her lie as he knew it was a lie. “You bitch.” Maridus growled and received a shock to the head again, again nothing louder than a grunt.

Mason looked from the Turians to Sidda. “Really?” she asked, something wasn’t quite right but if Shepard was on their team it was too good to pass up. All she could think were the resources that could be available to her if she had Shepard as an asset.

Sidda decided to gamble, if this worked she’d have to lay waste to the entire area. “There’s a military ship in orbit I can tell you where and how to board it undetected.” She was banking on Mason’s over confidence. “Uncuff me and I’ll hand you that ship on a silver platter.”

Mason was thinking. “We did detect a ship in orbit and its movements do suggest its military…” she thought out loud. “Uncuff her.”

 _“So gullible.”_ She thought but Sidda’s expression didn’t change.

“When I get out of here, I’m killing you first, Human.” Nihlus growled and Sidda really hoped he was playing along with her ruse. She noted the guard with a rifle by Nihlus that needed to be taken out first then the bastard electrocuting Maridus. Apparently, these people overlooked the fact that Sidda was a very powerful biotic and didn’t need a weapon to fight.

Sidda’s guard took her cuffs off and turned away from her as Sidda returned her hands to a clasped, relaxed position behind her back. “So who are you?” she asked.

“We are humanity’s spear.” Mason replied and turned to her noting Sidda’s current posture wasn’t relaxed, friendly or even that of a potential ally.

Sidda balled up her right hand and her body flashed biotic blue. “Not for long.” Sidda stated in a low tone. Before Mason could react, Sidda sent a warp to her right hitting Nihlus’s guard then grabbed the barrel of her guard’s gun pushing it upward so the rounds he fired off went into the ceiling. She stripped the weapon from him firing several point blank rounds into him before causing a biotic explosion by trapping people in a singularity and following it with a warp.

Now there was a fight on, only this time they were not going to get caught off guard. Nihlus’s hands were still bound behind his back but he could still fight, he went after the Mason ducking and dodging her punches and scored a hard kick to her face sending her sprawling back. When she didn’t move he turned his attention to the rest of his surroundings. There was an alarm going off so it was a good bet that more bad guys were on the way.

The scientist who had been working on Maridus threw his hands up, surrendering. Sidda’s body was glowing blue and she had a warp hit primed and ready to go. She paused as he surrendered to her. “On your knees.” She ordered and he complied quickly as Sidda snatched up her omni-tool that was sitting on a tray with the rest of their belongings. “Nihlus, get over here.” He moved toward her as her omni-tool activated. “Turn around.” He gave her a puzzled expression but turned feeling her grab his right arm pulling them away from his body. She activated the omni-blade and drove it through the link on the cuffs.

He grunted and winced in pain as what she did yanked sharply on his left arm but found his hands free. “Nice.” He replied collecting his omni-tool, pulled the knife from his boot, and collected a rifle from the ground. “Guards are no doubt on the way. We gotta go.” He said and headed toward the door to keep an eye out for more bad guys leaving Sidda to tend to Maridus.

Before he got there a guard came through the door and rolled under a burst fired from Nihlus’s gun. The guard’s omni-tool lit up and hit Nihlus with Sabotage making his weapon freeze, Nihlus cursed and went hand to hand, he moved faster than humans did and got close to the guard grabbing his shotgun twisting it away. The guard howled in pain as the force Nihlus used to rip the weapon away broke his arm but this guard was tenacious and activated the melee blade on his omni-tool. Nihlus did the same but ducked away from him dodging his slashes in quick, fluid movements and crouched down and swept his right leg to knock the human off his feet then drove his the omni blade into his face killing him. Another guard made his way around the corner and Nihlus knocked his rifle to the side driving the boot knife into his neck.

Watching the Nihlus fight was like watching a bloody ballet, he was smooth and fluid in his motions with lethal accuracy. She saw her attraction to Turian’s building beyond Victus but turned her attention toward Maridus. “Alright, let’s get you out of there.” She stated and tapped some keys on the chair, the metal bindings released and Maridus quickly shoved the probes away from his head and got to his feet. Buzzing from the shocks and royally pissed off he backhanded the scientist who was at the helm of his interrogation or whatever the hell it was supposed to be. Maridus his him hard enough to knock him out or even kill him and Sidda raised her eyebrows. “We need a way out of here, Damar.”

Maridus turned to the console and tapped several keys. “I can hack into the facilities data stream…wait…” he started and then stopped as the screen distorted. “Someone’s erasing the files remotely.” He finished and started tapping more keys to try and stop it or at least capture as much data as he could with his Omni-tool. The console electrified and went dark and both Sidda and Maridus looked toward the other side of the room.

There Mason stood, bloody face and all with an active omni-tool. “You’ve turned your back on humanity, Commander.” She accused as Nihlus opened fire on bad guys coming down the hall.

Sidda was tired of this and sent a throw into her sending her back into the wall hard. She moved up toward her and grabbed her tunic pulling the semi broken body closer to her face. “Who the hell are you?” she barked.

Mason’s body was damaged beyond repair now; the impact with the wall back first broke a lot of things. “We fight to advance humanity.” She managed out. “Cerberus…lives.” She finished as life left her body.

Nihlus was picking off various guards as they poked their heads around the corner. This place couldn’t have had too many people working at it. “Let’s go!”

As Sidda turned away from Mason’s body she heard a beep from the body. Sidda turned to see the dead woman’s omni-tool lit up and beeping, the beeping was increasing quickly and both she and Maridus deduced that was a bad thing. “Now, that sounds like some sort of a count down.” She said and Maridus agreed.

“Yep. Come on.” He agreed as they scrambled away from it quickly. “Nihlus, cover!”

The beeping became a solid tone and Mason’s body exploded sending Sidda and Maridus off their feet. The concussion of the blast shoved Nihlus right out of his cover and into the hall where he was trying to avoid being shot by the guards at the other end of the hall. He collected himself and backtracked quickly into cover. “What was that?” he shouted as Sidda took cover next to him.

“A belated ‘suicide’ bomb.” She replied conversationally with a cough as the dust was thick enough to choke someone.

“The way out’s that way.” Maridus stated pointing in the opposite direction that Nihlus was shooting.

Sidda nodded. “Alright, let’s do it.” She stated and their move was interrupted by the ground shaking, boulders from the walls and ceilings began to fall and she cursed. “This is getting worse! This is fucking getting worse!”

“Come on!” Maridus barked and the three of them started to haul ass for the exit, the tunnels collapsing behind them and in front of them. Maridus’s memory of the exit when he first looked at the console was perfect and they raced to it quickly.

The concussion from the blast caused the ancient ruins to collapse and the once thought to be sturdy halls were crumbling on top of them. A good sized rock landed between Maridus and Sidda making her jump backward causing Nihlus to slam into her. He put his right arm around her waist and practically picked her up moving her over the piles of rock coming down on their heads. Maridus came through in finding the exit and hit the button by the door.

“Come on! Come on! Come on!” he yelled quickly and the three of them scrambled in and kept running up an incline toward the daylight chased by a thick cloud of dust. The three of them sprinted to safety and over a bank of rocks that helped to conceal the entrance. They stopped on the other side of the rock bank and looked behind them as the dust cloud rose into the atmosphere.

The two Turians were fine but Sidda was a little out of breath and put her hands on her knees breathing heavy. “Everyone okay?” Nihlus asked and Sidda stood up straight putting her hands on her head to help keep her sides from aching.

“Yeah.” She replied and looked to Maridus; he had the worst of this whole thing. Only he knew exactly what they did to him but judging by his reaction toward the scientist it pissed him off. “You okay, Damar?”

He nodded slightly. “Fine.” He replied but his tone reflected the fact he was still a bit pissed about being electrocuted who knows how many times. “Lante, this is Maridus. Come in.”

Victus practically dove on the comm. “This is Victus, where the hell have you been? We’ve been trying to comm you for the past 6 hours.”

Maridus figured that and shrugged. “Yeah, I was a little tied up.” He replied. “We’re ready for extraction.”

Victus had worked with Maridus for 10 years and heard the tone of his voice. Things didn’t go as planned on this mission. “Understood. Cerrus and Nov are already planet side. We have a lock on your comm signal we’ll have them to you momentarily.”

“Understood.” Maridus said and the channel cut off as he turned his attention to Sidda and sat down on a boulder. “The General’s gonna be pissed at you coming back injured again.”

Sidda gave him a sardonic expression as she touched the dried blood on her head. “Oh, this is nothing.” She replied with a snort.

“I’m sure he’ll have no problem nursing you back to health.” He smirked and Nihlus turned around cocking his head to Maridus’ statement. The implication left little to the imagination but it would explain her candor while talking about Victus.

“Damar, remember that I promise I made to you after the shenanigans on _Zinith_?” she asked and Maridus chuckled.

“Relax, Sid, he’s a Spectre, professional investigator I bet this month’s pay he’s already figured out you’re sleeping with the General.” He stated and Sidda contemplated killing him.

“Oh my god, Damar, what is wrong with you?” She exclaimed. “I should have left your ass in there. For Special Forces you really can’t keep a fucking secret.”

Nihlus snorted to her obvious friendship with Maridus and decided to help his friend live through the next 30 seconds. “Commander, it wasn’t really that hard to figure out, so I think killing him would be counterproductive.” He said. “Victus is a lucky man and he was right, you’re a hell of a soldier.”

 

By the time the shuttle got there Sidda, Maridus, and Nihlus were all sitting down, Nov and Cerrus stepped on the shuttle and looked at the other three. “Spirits, what happened to you guys?” Cerrus asked seeing the human blood all over Nihlus, the blood on the side of Sidda’s head, and the tired beaten down look of Maridus.

“Let’s just say the mission encountered a few ‘snags’.” Sidda said and Nov extended his hand to her helping her to her feet.

“That looks like it hurts.” He said gesturing to the wound on her head.

“It did a few hours ago…now it just feels like any other ass kicking I get in the Training Room.” She replied and Nov chuckled.

Now that the adrenalin was just about worn off the three of them were for the most part quiet during the shuttle ride up to the ship. Nihlus was seated next to Sidda and looked over at her taking the knife from his boot. “Here.” He said holding it by the blade. “Thank you.”

“I’ve never seen anyone fight like you did.” She commented taking the knife from him. She could feel the dried blood on it, human blood, and the blood all over him from his hand to hand fight. “Magnificent. It was impressive to watch.” Nihlus allowed a small snort to her compliment. “I’ve had this since Elysium, killed a couple of Batarians with it before we made it to the spaceport, but this knife in your hands was more than a weapon. Keep it.” She said handing it back to him. “A gift.” Nihlus took it accepting it and nodded to her.

**

In the medical bay all three members were being checked over by Holum, especially Maridus. Several brain scans and observation were on the books for him so he checked over Sidda finding nothing more than a cut, mild concussion, and a hell of a headache. Nihlus was a little different; pulling the Spectre’s armor off was a painful marathon event as the arm he insisted was fine was nowhere near fine. By the time they had returned to the ship he could barely move his left arm which was a bit of a concern for Holum. Getting his armor off required a little self-control from Nihlus and patience from everyone else. While the medical staff worked on Nihlus’ arm and ran a full check on Maridus Sidda headed out to give Victus a report on what she could. She couldn’t speak for Nihlus’ mission but she could tell him what happened.

The lift opened at the CIC and Victus was actually waiting for it, nothing was said as he saw her and stepped onto the left. The door closed and he pressed the desired level, he allowed the lift to move then hit the hold button.

The lift stopped and Sidda looked up at him. “Are you alright?” he asked turning toward her and she turned to face him. He saw the bruise on the side of her head and couldn’t help but feel angry, he didn’t like seeing her hurt and would be more than willing to kill anyone who tried to hurt her.

“I’m fine, Adrien.” She insisted flattered with his concern as he traced his right hand down her left check careful to avoid what was likely a very tender spot on her temple.

“I, uhh, I was worried…when we couldn’t contact you.” He said quietly and she stepped toward him.

“I know.” She replied putting her hands on his chest rising up to her toes giving him a kiss. Kissing was kind of a new concept for him but it didn’t mean he didn’t enjoy it.

“My quarters tonight.” He said and she smiled with a nod then backed away from him returning to a professional look and Victus hit the hold button to make the lift resume. “So what happened?”

Sidda sighed. “Well, that’s a story.” She said and he looked over at her. “Let’s see there was a cave in, an ambush, capture, escape, the ensuing battle, a bomb, another cave in…”

Victus shook his head to the unusual missions she went on, all of them began benign but none of them ended that way. “So, pretty much business as usual for you?”

Sidda snorted to his comment and nodded. “Yeah, pretty much. Damar was interrogated or tortured I’m not sure but I don’t know exactly what they did to him.”

Victus wanted to know what she meant by _they_. “They?”

“You’ll have to talk to Nihlus about that. His mission.” She replied. “It was a human operation but...Damar salvaged what data he could.”

The lift opened at the level they wanted and she and Victus made their way toward the Medical Bay. Nov was leaning against the wall by the door and stood up straight when he saw Victus.

The situation in the medical bay was pretty much as it was when Sidda left. Maridus was resting in on an exam bed while hooked up to several monitors and Nihlus was shirtless as Holum checked over his damaged arm.

“Doctor.” Victus greeted but Holum didn’t look away from the screen he was looking at.

“General.” Holum replied, his tone typical for him, no nonsense and professional.

Victus looked to Nihlus who looked like he was in pain but held his left arm like it was injured. “Status?” he asked Holum.

Holum took in a deep breath and looked away from his screen. “A mild concussion for the Commander, Maridus is under observation but appears to be okay, Spectre Kryik, however, broke his left shoulder in two places.” He said and gestured to the image of Nihlus’ shoulder. “See here and here. His armor contained the damage and protected it from further injury.

Victus looked away from the screen and over to Nihlus, he smelled human blood before seeing it on his armor. “Nihlus, whenever you’re feeling up to it I’d like to see you for a debriefing.” He said and Nihlus nodded silently.

 

Victus downplayed the worry in the lift but the truth was he was on the verge of losing his mind when they lost contact with her; it was all he could do to maintain a professional appearance to his crew and not give away how in love with her he was. He had the chef make levo food and deliver it to his quarters. It wasn’t an unusual event for the General to hold an Officer’s Mess, most of the crew figured that he enjoyed the company of Shepard. A few rumors about their relationship flew but on a Turian ship spreading rumors about a commanding officer had dire consequences.

After eating a very good dinner Sidda was relaxed but tired and sat on the couch with him. She put her head on his chest and drifted off to sleep quickly as he lightly ran his hand through her hair repeatedly. The gentle touch from him put her to sleep within minutes. He looked down at her asleep on his chest and allowed a smile. He was content to sleep there if it meant not disturbing her.

**

The next day Nihlus, Sidda, and Maridus were all in the conference room for the debriefing. Victus looked at the three of them but mainly to Nihlus, this was his operation and it went topsy-turvy in more ways than one.

“So, you’re telling me that a Human facility or organization was experimenting on Turians?” Victus asked, he wouldn’t put it past them but the question still lingered. “Why?”

Nihlus looked back at to Maridus leaning against the table. “I analyzed what data I was able to capture before Mason deleted all the files. There are references to an organization called Cerberus and Hellhound but nothing real specific.” He explained. “Don’t really know what they were after in experimenting on Turians.” He said and they all looked to Sidda.

“Commander, any ideas?” Victus asked.

Sidda shrugged. “I’ve never heard of them.” She said. “They mentioned ‘control’, seemed pretty happy to have the opportunity to control a Spectre.”

He believed her answer and looked to Nihlus. “It’s you’re call, Nihlus.”

“I’ll take it to the Council.” He said and Victus looked over at Maridus who still didn’t look like himself.

“Damar, are you okay?” he asked and Maridus nodded.

He didn’t feel like himself, that was true, he was pretty sure they were just mapping and probing now dropping anything off but he still didn’t feel quite right. “Yeah. Holum said I’d have a headache for a few days.” He answered and Victus had gotten an update on his condition earlier.

“Alright. The facility was destroyed?” Victus asked and Sidda snorted.

“The facility came down on our heads so I’d say yeah.” She stated and Victus was satisfied with the debriefing.

“Okay, dismissed. Nihlus, we’re heading back to Turian space. Anywhere you need to go?” he asked and Nihlus gave a nod.

“Taetrus.” He said and Victus had no problem with that.

** 

When they arrived at Taetrus, wanted on an orbital station not the planet so the _Lante_ sidled up to a docking cradle and locked in. Nihlus was at the airlock having said his farewell’s to Maridus and Victus but missed Sidda. She wanted to catch him before he left and found him at the airlock.

“Nihlus.” She called and he turned to his name being called.

“Commander.” He greeted in an acknowledging tone as the airlock equalized pressure.

“I almost missed you, sorry.” She said and he shook it off noticing the knife she gave him tucked into his left gauntlet like hers was. “Make sure you put that thing to good use. It’s saved my life a few times.”

Nihlus appreciated the gift, it spoke volumes about her. “I will. Thank you again.” He said and there was a silence and she tried to make the awkward silence disappear by leaving. “Commander, one last thing,” Nihlus began stopping her. “the data that Damar captured from the facility, here’s a copy of it.” He said and handed her an OSD. “I thought the Alliance might want to see it.”

Sidda was surprised but took the disc with a nod. “Thanks. I’ll make sure this gets to them.” She said and Nihlus saw the attraction that Victus had to her. She didn’t fit the human stereotypes and she was a hell of a soldier.

“It’s been a pleasure, Commander.” He said extending his still sore left arm.

“Likewise, Nihlus.” She replied shaking his hand with a firm grip. “Take care of yourself.”

“You too, Commander.” He said and headed out the airlock.


	7. Silver World of Fortress' and Fire

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

 

Chapter Seven: A Silver World of Fortress’ and Fire

 

Running through a hot, humid, muggy jungle was not on Sidda’s list of things to do today. The vegetation was thick but they were following the locator from the shuttle so all she had to do was keep her footing. The transmission that caught the _Lante’s_ attention had been found, however it had been found along with local livestock. That ‘local livestock’ was now chasing them through the jungle looking for a meal.

“Go! Go, go, go!” Sidda shouted, not really like she had to order Nov and Rajin to run, they had that idea as well. Sidda also realized that no matter the situation the Turian’s were faster than her. Rajin was in the lead blasting through the overgrown flora, Sidda was next, and Nov was behind her.

“Run faster, Sid!” Nov yelled. She may have been running at top speed for a human but far too slow for him, he could hear the creature feature crashing through the jungle behind them and it was getting closer.

“I’m running as fast as I can!” she shouted back sparing a breath to reply, not bothering to look over her shoulder. She heard it too and would just as soon not look back.  
Nov was right on her back as she followed Rajin’s path. “Not fast enough!”

“Well, what do you want me to do? Fly!?” she responded as Rajin cleared the thick jungle and found their shuttle with Balin open and waiting. The female leapt into her and spun to cover them. “Balin! Balin, start take off now!” Sidda ordered and lost her footing on the path and went face first into the dirt. Nov stumbled over her but kept his footing skidding to a halt to cover her.

“Come on! Come on! Come on! Come on!” Nov rattled off, grabbing her arm as she scrambled to her feet. She got up and he fired a burst down the path at the big creature chasing after them, it roared as at least some of Nov’s shots hit.

“Callus, come on!” Sidda yelled as she cleared the jungle and found the shuttle primed and ready to go. Rajin was set to cover them and a few seconds later Nov blasted through the tree line with a giant, snapping reptile behind him.

Sidda and Rajin fired on the creature as Nov leapt onto the shuttle. “Go, Balin!” Nov ordered as the ship rocked from the creature jumping for it. The shuttle rose from the surface and headed back up to the _Lante_.

“What…the hell…was that?” Nov asked, breathing hard.

“That…that looked an awful lot like a damn T-Rex.” Sidda huffed and puffed as she too was breathing hard.

Rajin gave her a curious expression. “A what?”

Sidda plopped down on the bench seat. “Big…bad…carnivorous reptile, ancient period back on Earth. Big teeth. Bad attitude. Yeah.” She said and let the adrenalin surge dissipate.

**

Sidda felt like one giant salt lick, the planet was hot and humid and she could feel sweat dripping down her back. She licked her lips and found the taste of salt, blood, and dirt; the blood was from her face plant into the ground as was the dirt. Rajin, Nov, Balin, and herself were all stowing their gear after the semi-wild goose chase they just went on and they were all hot and irritated.

“Can’t you guys go on a mission where you don’t run into trouble?” Victus demanded, not even bothering to stop and let them know he was there.

Nov gave him a scoff. “It’s not like we planned it.” He replied with a slightly snarky tone. “The source of the transmission was found,” He began silently arguing with his right boot when it wouldn’t come off like the other one did. “a crashed Turian probe, couldn’t tell that from the ship because of the highly ionized atmosphere but I was able to recover the hard drive though.” He said sounding more than a little annoyed with everything, including his misbehaving armor.

“That’s when T-Rex’s little bro showed up.” Sidda added from her seat on the bench across from Nov.

“And when we all started running.” Rajin put in.

They all sounded annoyed, Victus couldn’t tell if it was because of the apparent close encounter or something else. “Couldn’t you have landed closer to the probe?” he asked.

“Oh no, no, Sir,” Nov answered finally getting his mud caked boots off and stood to get the rest of his armor off. “that planet holds the record for most dense vegetation in two galaxies. Very dense.”

Victus cocked his head to the thick, wadded up green leaf stuck in Nov’s left shoulder guard. “I can see that.” He replied plucking it from the armor.

Nov looked at the shredded broad leaf. “Thought I’d bring you back a salad, General.” He quipped and got the ‘don’t be a smartass’ look from Victus before snatching it from him. “I did learn one other thing on that planet.” He stated his tone still snarky and irritated.

“What’s that?” Victus asked and let his eyes move over to Sidda. She was facing away from him with half her armor off revealing sweat soaked undershirt.

“Humans need to run faster.” He snipped, it was a very pointed statement to Sidda who turned and glared at him.

“Bite me. I was running as fast as I could, Jackass.” She replied in an equally pointed statement.

Nov scoffed loudly. “That’s what frightens me.” He replied, pulling his gauntlets off and setting them in his locker.

“Well, we can’t all be decedents from birds, now can we?” she snipped back as Victus narrowed his eyes to the exchange.

“Ape.” He sniped earning a glare from his friend.

Sidda flipped him off. “Fuck you, Polly.” She knew he wouldn’t get the reference but she knew he would take it as an insult like she meant it.

“Hey!” Victus said in a raised tone to get them to stop insulting each other. They both looked at him then went back to stowing their gear. Rajin had gotten all her armor off and now she was bound for the showers.

“Sir.” She said quietly as she passed him, Victus turned to follow her and she paused before heading to the shower room. “they have been like that since they landed on the planet. I suggested they spar and get it over with.” She informed and Victus nodded indicating she could go then headed out of the locker room.

**

Sidda sat at the usual table in the mess hall alone forking through her human rations. By the time this assignment was over her taste buds were guaranteed to be dead due to lack of stimulation. She was pretty much half way through her assignment and so far really had no complaints, she actually enjoyed being around the Turians.

“Hey.” A familiar voice said she looked up to see Maridus sitting down with Nov next to him. She grunted a response and he glanced over to Nov, who he had a similar greeting from earlier. “Are you two fighting?” he asked, implying that they were acting like a married couple right now.

Sidda gave him a mock glare but said nothing. Nov looked up from his tray to the human across from him. “Yeah, almost being eaten by a giant reptile tends to sour ones mood.” He hissed with another pointed comment to her.

Sidda dropped her fork in exasperation and stared at him. “Really, Cal?” she snipped. “You’re fine, it never got close.”

“Closer than I’d like.” He rebuffed and she narrowed her glare at him.

“And whose fault is that?” she asked and Nov answered quickly.

“Yours. Run faster next time.” He quipped back quickly.

Sidda glared at him more as Maridus watch their exchange. “Bite me.” She shot back as Rajin sat down next to her across from Maridus.

“Good grief, are they still at it?” she asked and Maridus gave her a nod and gestured to the two of them.

“Yeah, apparently.” He answered as both Sidda and Nov seemed to ignore their presence.

Nov cleared his throat to that phrase, for Humans it probably didn’t mean much but to a Turian it means something entirely different. “You know, you might want to be careful who you say that too, someone might take you up on that offer.” He said and she leaned forward getting closer to his face. “Turians bite when they mate.”

Sidda knew that but Victus had been careful not to leave any marks. “You promise?” she asked in a flirty tone taking a little wind from his sails.

Nov blinked, part of him was ready to jump on her right now but there was an overpowering fear of Victus. “You’re a pain in the ass, you know that?” he replied biting his tongue about what he wanted to say, the more he got to know her the more he liked her.

 

Rajin chased after Sidda when they finished eating. The medic was a little taller than Sidda with blue eyes, grey skin, and colony marking that Sidda had never seen before on any Turian, a single jet black Turian handprint across her face. “Hey, Sid.” She called and broke into a jog to catch up with her.

Sidda paused and turned to see who had called her name. “Hey, Deliah…” she replied as Rajin paced her and walked with her.

“What’s uhh…what’s going on with you and Nov?” she asked and Sidda chuckled.

Sidda shrugged. “I think he’s PMSing.” She cackled and caught the twisted look from Rajin, she didn’t get it. “I’m sorry. Sometimes I forget you guys aren’t human.”

“Well, whatever it is I take it it’s a bad thing.” She inquired as they continued to walk down the corridor.

Sidda nodded with a snort. “Oh yes.” She replied and answered her question seriously. “I don’t know sibling rivalry I guess.”

Rajin had a question she just didn’t know how to broach it without sounding like a bitch. “What’s really going on between you and Nov?” she blurted. _“Well, that wasn’t it.”_ She thought to herself.

Sidda stopped and looked at her with a cocked head and a furrowed brow. “What do you mean?”

“That didn’t look like sibling rivalry. That looked like something else.” Rajin said and Sidda blinked, it finally dawned on her just as what she meant. “Are you sleeping with him?”

“What? Wait, Deliah, no.” she replied emphatically, confused and stunned with her interpretation of their feud. “No way.”

Rajin blinked realizing she had misread the signals she had seen over the past few days. “Oh, I’m…I’m sorry.” She stammered. “Sidda, I’m sorry.”

Sidda cocked her head looking up at her, she had learned to spot a blushing Turian, or at the very least and embarrassed one. “You like him.”

Rajin ceased her stammering and attempt to take back what she said. The flustered Turian opened her mouth a few times but nothing came out as she didn’t want to wholly deny an accusation that was very much true.

Sidda grinned as she now found herself in a matchmaker position. “You do. You like him.” She said again with the biggest smile on her face. “I think I’ve been on this boat long enough to recognize and blushing Turian.” Rajin’s embarrassed expression changed to a glower with that comment. “Why don’t you talk to him?” she asked.

“He’s my CO.” she replied and Sidda could have said many things to that comment.

She shook her head that was a lame excuse. “Not anymore.” She replied letting her hands out to her side. “I am. Talk to him, you two’d make a cute couple.”

Rajin shifted her weight and Sidda couldn’t tell if it was nerves or uncomfortableness. “No. That’s okay.” She replied now sounding uncomfortable. “It’s okay. Do me a favor, Sid, don’t tell him.”

Sidda cocked her head. “Sure, but why?”

“Nov likes Asari females…I’m not his type.” She answered and Sidda narrowed her eyes to that. “I gotta go.” She said and walked away from her after successfully embarrassing herself.

“That’s gonna be a bitch to keep quiet.” She muttered to herself.

**

The somewhat friendly feud that was going back and forth with Nov and Sidda had now reached the Training Room. “Alright, you have been an insufferable bastard for three days.” Sidda stated as she quickly wrapped up her hands. Sparring with a Turian was bad enough but their tough skin made it even harder on her knuckles.

Nov was pacing waiting for her to finish getting ready so he could gleefully kick her ass. He just wanted to fight something so it may as well have been her. “Three? Where the hell did you come up with three?”

Sidda gave his a sardonic expression as she finished her last wrap. “You were a colossal prick even before your close encounters of the lizard kind. What’s the matter? You need to get laid or something?” she asked stepping onto the mat. She had been training with Victus and Nov and had gotten ten times better then when she first came onboard.

“Laid?” he questioned making Sidda raise her eyebrows.

“Sex. Banged. Fucked. Whatever you want to call it.” She said and noticed his reaction. If the red faced Turian could blush like a human he would. “That’s it isn’t it? You haven’t gotten any for at least the amount of time I’ve been onboard. I think.” Nov felt a little embarrassed, as she was right or at least partly right. She was within striking distance directly in front of him and he fired a punch right into her mouth. He didn’t hit her as hard as he could have but he initiated the sparring with that hit.

Sidda’s head went back at the force of the punch but she didn’t move otherwise. She could taste some blood in her mouth and wiped her lip. “Oh, perfect, Turian Pon Farr.”

“Okay, I don’t know what that means.” He stated and the sparring was on.

Sidda had improved on her sparring technique since training with Nov and Victus. “It means you need to need to talk to Rajin and have some good old fashion sex. Work out some of your issues so I can have your sunny disposition back.”

Nov stopped his movement and cocked his head to her. “Rajin?” he asked. “What does Deliah have to do with this?”

Sidda paused and scoffed. “The denseness of men transcends species’. Go figure.” She muttered. “She likes you, Moron.”

Nov cocked his head it finally dawned on him as Sidda’s left foot caught him in the jaw from a roundhouse kick. He grunted to the impact and sprawling to the floor augmented by Sidda chuckling.

**

After soundly kicking Nov’s distracted ass Sidda made her way to Victus’ cabin for their weekly dinner together. It was under the guise of an Officers Mess although mainly Sidda attended, on occasion Maridus and Ruvio would join but typically it was just them. Victus’ chef had mastered the challenge of cooking Levo food. The small store of food on board for her was reserved for the weekly dinners so it could be stretched and they didn’t have to restock.

“Have you ever been to Palaven, Sidda?” Victus asked as she tore into food that actually tasted good. The rations did little more than keeping her strong and alive.

She finished her bite of meat and shook her head. “Never made it out that way.” She said and looked at him wondering why he would ask that question.

“The Hierarchy has ordered the _Lante_ back to Palaven for a one week refit.” He told her and she washed her food down with a glass of water. “We could drop you at Earth or another colony if you wish.”

She shook her head; she’d actually like to see Palaven. “No.” she said quickly shaking her head. “I’d like to see Palaven.”

Sidda spent her next morning running through the corridors of the ship. She would typically do laps on the deck her quarters were on. She was working up quite a sweat and running off the typical sore spots that had become common with having relations with a Turian. She originally slipped into a pair of shorts but discovered a large bruise in the shape of a Turian’s right thumb on her left thigh so she went with some sweat pants.

As she embarked on her final lap she followed the curve of the ships corridor, looking down rather than at where she was going. She felt as if she’d run into one of the bulkheads and bounced off the object trying to keep her footing; she steadied herself on the opposite wall and looked up to see Nov in the same position opposite her. He had staggered backward into the wall and was trying his damnedest not the fall on his ass.

“Cal,” she began but Nov didn’t give her time to finish.

“Damn it, Sid!” he snapped in an irritated tone. Apparently kicking his ass all over the training room did not improve his mood. “Don’t they teach Alliance Special Forces to watch where the hell they’re going?”

Sidda fired him her best ‘you’re being an asshole’ glares. “Don’t they teach Turian Special Forces to stay the hell out of the way?” she fired back and Nov stood up straight to his towering height looking down at her. He wasn’t threatening, at least, not yet, he was more like bantering, flirting even. “Alright, peace, Cal.” She said firmly. “Peace. No more bantering, no more fighting. I call a truce. It’s been fun vying with you.”

As she started to walk past him he grabbed her arm lightly to stop her. “Sid, wait.” He started and she looked down at his hand then back up at the tall Turian. “I did come down here to ask you something.” He finished and she turned toward him, his hand dropping back down to his side. “Word is Victus is taking us to Palaven for leave. There’s a bar in Cipritine called Tova I was wondering if you come with me.”

Sidda’s brow furrowed, he’d lost his damn mind. “I am not going with you to a bar ever again.” Sidda unequivocally stated trying to shut Nov down right then and there.

“Oh come on, you had fun last time.” He replied and Sidda paused eyeing him, was he completely off his rocker?

“Callus, I don’t even remember what happened last time. I remember going into Oblivion and waking up in a cell, that’s it.” She stated and Nov held his hands out innocently.

“Well, that’s the fun part.” He replied with a laugh.

“Fun? You and Damar got bitch detail for two weeks after that.” She said and he laughed at the human expression.

“That’s how you know you had a good time. When the CO has to come and get you.” He said and realized he wasn’t getting any closer to getting her to come with him.

“Nope. No way.” She repeated and started to walk away from him only to have him start chasing after her.

Nov stooped to begging. “Come on, please, Sid.”

Sidda turned to him. “Why do you want me to go so bad?” she asked and that was his kryptonite apparently. “Cal?” she asked growing suspicious when he didn’t respond looking at the floor instead of her.

“I asked Deliah to meet me there.” He said after a resigned sigh. “I was hoping you’d come along with me. I’m not very good with Turian females.” He added sounding embarrassed.

Sidda couldn’t resist. “You? The master of tact and subtly…no.”

He glowered at her. “Funny.”

Sidda smirked. “I thought so.” She said and heaved a sigh. “Okay, I’ll go but I’m warning you, Callus Nov, if I have to fight my way out of another bar you better hope they don’t put you in the same cell with me.”

**

Sidda gazed out the window as the _Lante’s_ shuttle broke through the atmosphere of Palaven. The _Lante_ was in docked in orbit for its refit and Maridus, Victus, and herself were on the way down to the planet. She was the only one in an enviro-suit since the planets magnetic field was too weak to block the radiation that could kill her. She’d heard thousands of things about the Turian homeworld but had never seen it firsthand. Anderson had seen it; his view was tainted by his dealings during the First Contact War. She saw the sliver look to the planet as the ship approached and couldn’t help but remember the descriptions told to her. “A silver world of fortresses and fire.” She said out loud and both Maridus and Victus looked at her.

“What?” Victus asked.

“That’s a description from an Asari Diplomat.” Sidda said and kept her eyes on the beautiful planet below. “She was right. It’s beautiful.”

 

Cipritine was a massive city that took Sidda’s breath away. Just the sheer size of it was overwhelming. Buildings spired into the sky and reminded her of Roman architecture from Ancient Earth. The heavy military influence seeped into the Turian culture; even their cities, buildings and cities were placed for a strategic tactical advantage. If anyone tried to assault this planet they were going to be in for a surprise. Victus was giving her a quick tour of the city. Sidda wasn’t crazy about running around in her armor but it was for the best. There were a few environmentally controlled places but not many.

“Father.” A voice called and Victus stopped and turned sharply. Sidda looked and found a Turian the same height as Victus with a very light face and the same colony markings.

Victus was visibly surprised to see him. “Tarquin.” He said the surprise evident in his voice. “What are you doing here?” he asked then realized how that sounded to his son, it was good to see him but he didn’t expect him to be on Palaven.

“New assignment.” Tarquin replied and looked to Sidda. A human, what was a human doing on Palaven? He’d never really been around humans but she wasn’t the first that he’d met.

Victus grumbled inwardly, it was proper to introduce them but he would have liked to do this some other time. “This is Cdr. Shepard, Alliance Navy.” He introduced. “Commander, this is Tarquin…my son.”

Sidda’s reaction was hidden behind her helmet and was glad for that, it was obvious that Victus hadn’t expected him to be there but she extended her hand to him. “Call me Sidda.” She greeted with a smile and Tarquin didn’t hesitate to shake her hand. The handshake may have been common practice on Earth but also among the Turians, theirs was a little different and she didn’t know if the greeting was used for the same reason but regardless it was used the same between the cultures.

“Shepard?” Tarquin asked recognizing the name. If he said the ‘Hero of Elysium’ she was going to scream. “From the Skyllian Blitz?”

 _“Well at least it wasn’t ‘Hero of Elysium’.”_ she thought. “The same.” She replied instead.

“It’s a pleasure.” He said and Tarquin could tell his father was a little uncomfortable.

“Would you excuse us, Commander?” Victus asked and she took a moment to respond, confused but did as he asked moving away from the two Turians.

“What are you doing here, Father?” Tarquin asked.

“My ship needed to undergo a refit.” Victus replied and leaned on the railing.

Tarquin paused and looked back to Sidda trying not to look awkward standing by herself. “And her?”

Victus looked to Sidda letting his gaze linger a bit before looking away from her. “A temporary assignment by the Council, for a human she’s…extraordinary.”

Tarquin could read between the lines and noticed that way his father acted and spoke about her. “Really?” he asked with a smirk and Victus looked at him.

“What?” he asked feeling his son’s gaze burning through him.

“Extraordinary, huh?” Tarquin commented. “How extraordinary, Dad?”

Victus caught his tone and rolled his eyes shaking his head. “Tarquin…” he said in a fatherly, warning tone.

He chuckled as he patted his father’s shoulder. “Well done, Old Man.” Tarquin prodded. “Never would have thought a human.”

Victus sighed again, standing up straight and grumbling to his son who was having way more fun than he should have been having with this news. “Tarquin.” He warned again.

Tarquin chuckled and patted his father’s shoulder for the last time. “Alright, I’m done.” He chuckled. “I’m done.”

Victus eyed his son; he knew he was only poking fun at him and part of him missed that. Tarquin grew up in his shadow with so much to live up to but he had a very good sense of humor. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

Tarquin chuckled loud enough for Sidda to hear. He had the same laugh as Adrien and they looked almost the same, Tarquin’s skin was lighter and he carried himself differently. Adrien carried himself with pride and cool confidence. Tarquin carried himself like a trained solider, confident yes, but not seasoned confidence. “In fact I do.” He nodded politely. “It was good seeing you.” Victus nodded, it wasn’t planned but he was happy to see his son, he hadn’t seen his son in a long time. “Sidda,” he said walking over to her extending his hand again. “an honor, Commander.”

Sidda shook his hand and offered him a smile from behind her helmet. “Likewise, good to meet the infamous son.” Tarquin chuckled to that and as he left she noticed that Victus hadn’t moved from his spot by the railing. She walked up next to him and leaned on the railing much like he did earlier. “So…that was your son.” She said and Victus nodded. “He looks a lot like you.”

He knew that, everyone said that to him. The light skin tone was his mother’s but the rest was him. “So they keep telling me.” He replied.

“You’re better looking though.” She added hearing him chuckle to that.

Victus looked down at her, he wanted to see more of her face but it was hidden safely behind her helmet, he settled for a glimpse of her hazel eyes. They seemed to have a green tint to them in the Palaven sun. “Shall we, Commander?” he asked careful about keeping his hands to himself.

Sidda eyed him and stood up straight, her smile hidden from him. “We shall.”

**

That evening Sidda made good on her promise and went with Nov to a bar call Tova. This bar was much more tame then Oblivion was but the number of Turians had increased, Sidda’s presence caused the same reaction as Oblivions but this time she wasn’t going to be knocking back and untold amount of Brandy. She still couldn’t remember how much she consumed that night, apparently enough to start the fight that landed them in the brig. When she walked in it was like a moment of déjà vu, the fact about Oblivion was there were plenty of Turians there that served on the Lante, not this time. The crew had scattered for their week long leave so she was on her own with Nov as her only shield, Rajin too once they found her. Cipritine had more radiation shielding than most, it was the capital and was frequented by a lot of Salarians and Asari so that meant that Sidda could go without the suit for a while and not have to worry about glowing in the dark.

To Sidda, Rajin was hard to find in the sea of Turians; the black hand print of her colony was lost in the dimly lit bar so Sidda relied on Nov to find her.

Nov, at his towering height, cut through the crowd of people with ease and seemed like he knew where he was going. If he’d seen her he didn’t advertise it. “Cal!” she heard someone call and looked over to see Rajin on her left standing at a small table. Rajin looked much different out of uniform and armor. She wore, what looked to Sidda, like black leather pants and a red corset. “Sid…” Rajin began sound almost surprised that she was there with him. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

Sidda nodded, seeing the wind deflate from Rajin’s sails. “Yeah, it’s his fault.” She replied gesturing to Nov.

Nov’s expression was colored with confusion. “My fault? What did I do?” he asked, he’d been here for 30 seconds and something was already his fault.

Rajin and Sidda chuckled. “Cal, why don’t you go get us some drinks.” Sidda instructed seeing Rajin’s body language change.

Nov didn’t need much more than that and headed off into the crowd to do just that. “Deliah, I’m sorry, he asked me to come.” Sidda apologized. “He’ll face down a bullet but a date scares the hell out of him.”

Rajin giggled. “Apparently no matter where you go all men are the same.” She said pretty much reading Sidda’s thoughts.

“Exactly.” Sidda replied with a laugh as she leaned on the tall table.

Rajin looked her up and down then leaned forward onto the table mimicking her. “Hey, why don’t you hang around? Plenty of Turians out there that may be interested in an interspecies fling, one of them may suit you.” She said and Sidda allowed a blush.

“Nah, thanks, Deliah.” She replied, in fact she did want her interspecies fling but her target wasn’t present. “I’m gonna make sure he doesn’t need me to hold his hand then I’ll head back up to the ship.” She stated and saw Rajin begin to protest. “I’m more comfortable up there.” She justified and Rajin could understand that.

Rajin leaned on the table toward her. “Then let me ask you this.” She began and Sidda saw the next question coming a light-year away. “Did you tell him what I said to you?”

Sidda stammered a little and thought about how to answer that then decided to just fess up. “I’m sorry, Deliah, he needs to loosen up and you two look great together.”

Rajin wasn’t mad, in fact she was grateful. She’d had a long standing crush on Nov but she was too shy and he was obviously too dense. “Don’t apologize. Thank you.”

Sidda couldn’t hide the happy smile. “You’re welcome. But you may not want to thank me yet. He’s been acting like a buffoon lately and he did tell me that he wasn’t good with Turian females, although I’m not entirely sure what the hell that means.”

Rajin chuckled as she leered after the red faced Turian waiting at the bar for the drinks talking to a few other Turians. “No, he’s been acting like a male.” She replied looking Nov up and down.

“Nice to know that behavior among males is a galactic constant no matter what species they are.” Sidda stated and Rajin chuckled.

As Nov returned with three drinks he noticed Sidda and Rajin chuckling and periodically looking at him. “Alright, I think you two are getting on a little too well.” He said. “You two, giggling and looking at me…not sure if I like that.”

Rajin and Sidda looked at each other and took the two drinks he’d gotten for them, a small glass of Brandy for Sidda and something else that Sidda couldn’t identify for Rajin. “Oh don’t worry, Cal,” Rajin said with a flirty tone. “You’re safe with us.”

Nov took a swig of his drink, it burned as it went down and he cleared his throat. “Oh yeah, tonight’s gonna be a fun night.” He said and neither one of them were sure if he was sincere or sarcastic about it.

**

After leaving Tova, Sidda took the last transport back up to the ship; it was safer for her to be on the ship in a regulated environment. She spent the rest of the evening occupying herself with running or working out in the training room. The only other people on the ship were the engineers and security personnel. She ended her run in the training room; this was her time to think. She was half way through her assignment and it was the best assignment she’d ever had. The only thing that nagged at her was Victus. What was going to happen after her assignment was over?

Normally, Victus would spend his leave down on Palaven rather than on a ship that was being refitted, but what he wanted was on this ship. He made his way to her quarters but found them empty. That puzzled him, at this time of night that’s where she usually was. As puzzled as he was Sidda was relatively predictable so he headed to the Training Room. She’d spent the better part of her assignment so far bettering herself in hand to hand against Turians; she made a best friend in Nov who had done a hell of a job teaching her his dirty fighter techniques. True enough he found Sidda in the training room and leaned on the wall simply watching her.

“How was the bar?” he asked after a few minutes breaking the silence and making her turn sharply.

Damn, Turians were stealthy Sidda thought to herself. “Why am I not surprised that you know I went to a bar?” she asked and he allowed a chuckle.

“Sid, nothing happens with you on this assignment that I don’t know about.” He stated and moved toward her.

Sidda blinked and stopped what she was doing. “That’s disturbing.” She commented. “Kind of stalkerish.”

Victus allowed another chuckle as he stood close behind her and put his hands on her waist. “You going to a bar full of Turians with Nov…all I could think of was _Zinith_.” He said and she chuckled.

“Thoroughly uneventful this time, Baby.” She replied and leaned back into him. “But I figured sticking around in a room full of intoxicated Turians was a fight waiting to happen so I came back up here.”

Sidda could have sworn Victus purred. “I’m glad you did.” He said and she put her hands on his just letting him hold onto her. “You want to spar?”

Sidda scoffed. “No. I’ve gotten my ass stomped on enough lately.” She said and turned in his grasp putting her arms around his neck and shoulders as best as she could due to his height. “But you can take me to bed, General.” She said and he started to purr again. Whether it be a purr or growl Sidda enjoyed hearing it coming from him and Victus was more than happy to oblige her request.


	8. Thanks a lot, Nov

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Eight: Thanks a lot, Nov

 

Since Palaven was rather dangerous to a human she had to wear an uncomfortably hot suit the whole time, helmet included, she also couldn’t eat anything on the planet unless they pulled out the Asari food which to Sidda was almost as bad as Turian food. After visiting Cipritine she returned to the _Lante_. The ship was dry docked and being upgraded but it was a little safer than being on the planet where a multitude of things could go wrong and damage her. Meeting Tarquin was a major step in their relationship but she got the sense that it was a step that Victus didn’t intend to take just yet.

After four days of being in dry dock the crew was enjoying a well-deserved leave Sidda was enjoying uninterrupted time with Victus. They were currently perfecting the technique of Turian/Human relations and getting pretty good at it. He was nuzzling his way up her body hovering over her. Things were progressing well but that was to be expected for the third night in a row Victus knew what he was doing. His quarters were dimly lit, smelled of the dinner they had finished, and there was a half a bottle of Brandy next to the bed. She giggled as he found a ticklish spot near her collar bone.

The light in the room was amplified as he Omni-tool lit up, beeping. There was an incoming comm, but he simply ignored it pausing only to tap it to make it shut up then returned to pleasing his female. About a minute later the Omni-tool went off again but instead if him turning it off Sidda tapped it to shut it up making him chuckle.

He grabbed both wrists and pinned them to the bed as he continued to nuzzle and kiss the left side of her neck. The comm in his quarters beeped and a she heard him growl and practically punched the intercom button to shut it up, still not answering it.

“Maybe you should get that.” Sidda commented but he didn’t respond he specifically gave the order not to be disturbed.

There was silence for a few minutes then another page was heard. _“Do not disturb order overridden.”_ He heard the ships VI state. _“Gen. Victus, please respond.”_

Victus let out a long, pissed off growl and smacked the intercom. “What?” he snapped detailing his new foul mood.

 _“Sorry to disturb you, General.”_ Ruvio’s disembodied voice said. _“Message coming in from Command.”_

Victus grumbled, the Turians had a sizable fleet, there had to be some other ship that Command could pick on. “Put it through to my quarters.” He grumbled and snatched up his clothing. Sidda couldn’t help but chuckle at his grumbling as he pulled his clothes on. He straightened his tunic and tapped the button on the terminal. The monitor changed to show the boss of bosses in the Turian Military. “Primarch Fedorian, there must be someone else in the fleet you can annoy.” He stated clearly not caring that he just said that to the Primarch. Victus had been in the military as long as Fedorian had and knew he could say that without too many repercussions.

Fedorian simply looked at him; Victus was not his first choice to take care of this due to his unorthodoxed style. _“Not anymore.”_ He replied in a tone that reflected a slight scold. _“Sorry to disturb your leave, Adrien, but I have a mission for you.”_

Victus perked up and cocked his head slightly with a puzzled expression. “Sir, the _Lante_ is in the middle of a refit.” He reminded and Fedorian nodded.

 _“The Dock master tells me that the bulk of the job is finished, any loose ends can be handled by your crew in transit. You have four hours to recall your crew and proceed to Talas. A Batarian Terror cell has seized the Science Observatory, now the Hegemony assures us that they had nothing to do with this but refuse to act against them._ ” He stated and Victus shook his head.

“I do hope you told the Hegemony that we will.” He said and Fedorian nodded.

 _“I did indeed, Adrien, I believe the Hegemony doesn’t want to provoke the full force of our fleet so they’re leaving it to us.”_ He informed and Victus couldn’t blame the Batarians for that, probably the only smart thing they’ve ever done. _“Deal with the Batarians as you see fit but try not to start a war.”_

Victus almost laughed but settled with a sharp nod. “Yes, Sir.” He replied and expected that to be the end of the conversation.

 _“One more thing,”_ He began. _“I hope you can control your temporary crew member.”_

Victus straightened. “You mean Cdr. Shepard?”

 _“The Hero of Elysium, she killed a lot of Batarians that day. They still want her blood and from what I’ve heard she’s not too fond of them either.”_ He said voicing a concern that many had about her dealing with Batarians. _“If you don’t think you can control her I’d just as soon have you leave her on Palaven.”_

Sidda sat up in the bed hearing the conversation and looked toward Victus but said nothing. She couldn’t see him but could hear Fedorians concern for the situation and was curious to hear what Victus would say. Hopefully she’d proved that she could be trusted in any situation and she knew better than to think he’d vouch for her based on their intimate relationship.

“The Commander is a soldier, Primarch, and a damn good one, she’ll follow my orders and if she compromises the mission I’ll punish her just like any other member of my crew.” He said and Fedorian was satisfied with that.

 _“Four hours, General, I want you there as soon as possible if not faster.”_ He repeated and the screen went black.

He came back into Sidda’s view and tapped a comm sparing her a glance but nothing more, he knew she heard that. “Zara, sound emergency recall, I want everyone back onboard in 2 hours anybody not back on board by then stays behind.” He instructed and heard the conformation from his officer. He looked down at Sidda who was simply eyeing him. “Don’t make me regret bringing you along.”

Sidda said nothing to that comment as she watched him grab the rest of his uniform and head out of the quarters.

**

The ship was a flurry of activity as the crew returned from Palaven, shuttle after shuttle dropped full loads of crewmembers to the point Zara had her hands full coordinating it all so there were no collisions. Maridus was on his way to the CIC to figure out what was going on. He’d found Nov and Rajin on the same transport up but didn’t expect either one of them to know what the deal was and spotted Sidda heading to the same lift as he.

“Sid,” he called passing a pack of crewmembers and noticed tech work still going on at a console next to the lift. “what’s going on?”

She patted his arm as the lift opened and they both stepped in. “Batarians seized a Science station.”

Maridus narrowed his eyes. “Perfect.” He muttered in an irritated tone while tapping the level they desired.

The lift stopped and both Sidda and Maridus could hear Victus talking. The CIC was a little less busy then the rest of the ship but Maridus could still see some tech work going on at a few non critical consoles. The ship wasn’t finished.

“General,” Maridus greeted and Victus turned to his first officer. “have the Batarians completely lost their minds?” he asked indicating that Sidda told him what was going on.

“The Hegemony swears up and down they had nothing to do with it, but they refuse to do anything about it.” He stated that was the mission in a nutshell.

“Good old Batarians.” Maridus muttered dryly. “Count on them to ruin a well-deserved leave.”

“ _Talas’_ emergency beacon was activated with an ‘Intruder Detected’ signal at 0322. That message was sent directly to Command.” Victus explained. “Zara, status?”

“80% of the crew onboard, Sir.” She responded and Victus nodded actually astonished that his crew, which was no doubt scattered all over the planet below, was recalled that fast.

They had to get going and quick. “Alright, bring any incoming shuttles aboard ground anything that hasn’t left the planet.” He said. “Get us underway as soon as the last incoming shuttle is onboard. Sid, do a head count for both teams.” He said and Sidda nodded to him.

**

By the time they reached the _Talas_ the ship was squared away. Both teams were found to be whole as Cerrus barely made in just under the wire on the last shuttle. In anticipation of having to retake the station from the Batarians or anything else that could go wrong Argo and Centar Units changed into battle gear.

In the locker room Sidda quickly pulled on her gear but moved over to Rajin. “Hey, how’d it go?” she asked in a low tone referring to the ‘date’ she helped facilitate.

Rajin looked like she could barely contain herself. “Absolutely amazing.” She said and Sidda laughed with glee. She played matchmaker with an alien species.

“Really? Yes!” she giggled.

Rajin fastened that last part of her chest piece. “Oh, yeah, Sid, he is really good.” She stated the excited tone couldn’t be masked. “I mean _really_ good, Sidda.”

Nov had good hearing like most Turian’s did and heard their conversation; he shook his head with a cackle and turned to them putting a hand on both of their shoulders. “Ladies, I am right here.”

“Yes, we know.” Sidda droned with a smirk.

“Oh what, Commander, you wanna try a piece?” he cackled. “There’s plenty of me to go around.” His tone was dripping with enough over confidence to make them sick.

Sidda glared at him sardonically. “Get outta here.” She said shoving him away though his chuckling.

“Still…it’s nice to know that I’m really good, thanks Deliah.” He said as he walked ahead of them.

“Ahh, shut up, Casanova.” Sidda droned back hearing him chuckle.

“Ooo, Casanova, I like that.” He replied although he really had no idea what that meant, his smug, inflated ego was going to get him shot.

“You just had to tell him how good he was out loud.” She droned and Rajin giggled.

“Yeah, I couldn’t help it.” She replied and Sidda chuckled trying to drown out the egotistical chuckling from Nov.

“Well, that’s one thing I can scratch off my to-do list.” Sidda said and tapped the button on the lift. “I played matchmaker with an alien species and was successful.” She grinned.

**

On the CIC, Sidda and Cerrus stepped off the lift to be witness to what was found at Talas. The trademark black and yellow N7 armor was like a beacon, anyone could find her in a sea of Turians just by looking for her armor.

“We’re geared and ready to go, Sir.” Cerrus said and Victus nodded.

“Damar, what do you have?” he asked as Maridus hovered over a station to figure out what condition the station was in. The console he was working on beeped at him and he cocked his head. “Major?”

Maridus’ face was colored in confusion. “Stand by…” He said and started to trail off before looking at the crewman next to him. “Run that again.” He ordered and the tech did so.

“Damar,” Victus repeated indicating he was still waiting.

Maridus knew it was time to answer him. “I’m picking up and debris field, Sir.” He answered and Sidda’s brow furrowed while Cerrus’ expression narrowed. “Scan says it’s a Batarian in origin.”

That was odd. Why would there be a debris field of something that supposed to be the cause of the reason they were sent. “Zara, any other ships in the area?” Victus asked and the pilot shook her head.

“Nothing’s coming back on LADAR.” She replied and Maridus and Victus looked at each other both perplexed.

“Did the station have any automated defenses?” Sidda asked and both Victus and Maridus shook their heads quickly with a unison ‘No’. “Are you kidding? The _one_ thing Turian’s didn’t strap a gun to?”

Victus turned to her with a sigh but Maridus beat him to the punch. “ _Talas_ is a science station, low level research been online for 20 years, nobodies’ messed with it.” Maridus said and Sidda still found that hard to swallow.

“Until now.” Sidda replied still not buying their explanation. “Something must have been juicy enough to make the Batarians try to commit suicide.”

She was not wrong, something about this whole thing was odd but Victus didn’t know what. He’d heard of this station though he’d never been there, as it was never bothered by anyone there was never a reason for him to go there.

“I’m not picking up any life signs. Nothing.” Maridus said and looked back to Victus. “No response on hails either.”

Victus leaned on the console. “Major, begin docking procedures.” He said and stood up straight turning to Sidda and Cerrus. “Captain, Commander, I’ll meet you and your teams by the airlock. I’m going with you.”

Victus going on a mission was nothing new but Sidda had never been on a mission with him or anything that was off the ship so she didn’t know what to expect but she mimicked Cerrus’ response and headed off the CIC with no question.

**

 _Talas_ had a very simplistic design; it wasn’t a big station, about the size of a common transport freighter, with three levels; engineering, labs, and crew quarters, not very big and designed to be efficient. At the moment the station had a very eerie feel about it and every member of the boarding party felt it. The low level emergency lighting gave the B-movie vid feel too it.

“Zara, talk to me.” Victus said as he was the first one through the airlock followed by Sidda to the right and Cerrus to the left.

 _“I’m not picking up anything, Sir, no life signs; Turian, Batarian, or otherwise.”_ Zara stated from the CIC as the team was on the station. _“Looks like something’s blocking the scan.”_

“Alright, deck by deck, room by room.” He ordered and looked to the men waiting for orders. “Cerrus, take the upper level, Crew Quarters. Nov, Engineering, lower level. Cdr. Shepard and I will take the Research Lab.” There were no questions, no ifs ands or buts when he was in charge. To question him was pretty much suicide, he’d earned that respect. “Balin, Pelonis, keep an eye on the airlock.”

As the teams separated and headed their directions Sidda and Victus headed down the long hallway. They reached a threshold that transitioned the main hall into a long, wide catwalk leading to the Research Lab door. There was a railing on each side, dimly lit but Sidda could tell there was nothing on either side. She moved toward the railing and looked over the edge. There was red emergency lighting a good distance down and Sidda raised her eyebrows.

“That’s a long way down.” She said and Victus looked over the other side and grunted an agreement. “So, what? The Batarians show up, take the station in a way the whole Turian military sees and then what, blow themselves up?” she asked as she and Victus followed the signs for the research lab. “I mean, Batarians are inept at most things but I’ve seen there Terrorist skills at work first hand and they are definitely intact.”

Victus agreed. “I think they’re still here.” He said.

Sidda also go the distinct feeling that they weren’t alone as well. “And they what, blew up their getaway car?” she asked and thought about that for a moment, Batarians tended to botch a lot of things. “Okay, that’s actually possible.”

Victus allowed a chuckle to that remark. “Yes it is.”

“What kind of research goes on here?” she asked and he answered quickly.

“Classified.” He replied firmly and she paused for a second looking at him. It was best not to ask since she knew what he was going to say.

“Fine.” She relented but her tone reflected some irritation. “Low level research my ass.”

He simply glanced over to her as they both had weapons at the ready while walking down the halls. The emergency lighting made it darker than Sidda would have liked but she could still see well enough.

They reached the door for the Lab and Victus tapped the control to open it but the door was locked. He tapped his omni-tool and demonstrated his limited skill of hacking, however limited his ability was he still got the door open. Sidda had set herself up to cover him as the door opened and as soon as it opened she stepped in scanning the room, prepared for any threat.

“Clear.” She said quietly as he scanned the other side of the room.

Victus took a moment to respond and then agreed. “Clear.” He replied.

She didn’t know what kind of research went on but the lab looked like it contained some groundbreaking, albeit classified, work. There were a few chambers inside the room with unidentified items in them. All guarded by individual mass effect fields, the fields must have had their own power source given that the power was minimal.

 

Nov edged down the steps to Engineering, something had his hackles up, there was something not right about this whole situation and the nagging feeling got worse as he headed down to Engineering. He was leading with Rajin, Zek, and Tobius bringing up the rear, with the exception of Balin this was Argo unit…his team.

The red-faced Turian was very uneasy with this station, the fact that something was blocking their bio-scan made him even more uneasy. Anything could be lurking around the dark corners of Engineering and he’d just as soon not be caught off guard. They came to the door to main engineering without trouble. Zek remained a sentry looking for any movement, Rajin and Tobius took up a position on either side of the door as Nov hacked it. No words were spoken as none needed to be, these four worked as a well-oiled machine and had for years.

The red lock turned green after a few moments of Nov working on it. He stepped to his right ending up next to Rajin as he did not want to be the poor schmoe standing out in the open. There was nothing, no movement at all as Tobius entered first then Nov, then Zek followed by Rajin a few seconds later. Engineering was a large room but dark and empty.

“Sir, Nov, Engineering is clear.” He reported but couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that something was about to go sideways in a spectacular fashion. “Something’s not right here, Sir.”

Victus had to agree with that. _“Keep your guard up.”_ He answered. _“Try to get power back online.”_

Nov nodded. “Yes, Sir.” He said and glanced over to Rajin who took up a guard position between him and the door.

 

Cerrus had much the same feeling that Nov did, that irritating nagging that something was about to go wrong. They walked along the upper catwalk of the station heading to the living quarters.

Kalvaris and Masso flanked him, unlike Argo, Centar only had four members, including their pilot. Cerrus was not only an almighty pain in the ass about humans but he was extremely hard on the members of his team. He was a good leader but expected a lot and if a member didn’t meet his standards they didn’t remain and Victus could respect that, Kalvaris, a barefaced Turian, and Masso, with the red paint seen often on the Citadel were the best weapon specialists on the ship.

There was an eerie silence with only the faint sounds of their boots on the deck, the red lighting added to the eeriness. “Anyone else getting that weird feeling?” Kalvaris asked.

Masso grunted a positive response and Cerrus remained quiet. The door to the crew quarters was ajar, open about 6 inches and Cerrus put himself in the gap as far as he could using his strength to push it apart. It opened far enough for them to pass through and that was good enough for him. Kalvaris and Masso checked the perimeter of the common area; it was so dark you couldn’t see much of anything, flashlights barely cut through the curtain of darkness. Where was the emergency lighting? Cerrus wondered as his hackles stood and he froze.

Nov worked feverishly in Engineering to identify the problem and fix it. He tapped a few times on the main console and it beeped. A flashing orange light appeared on the upper left corner of the console. Underneath it read _System Ready_. He pushed it. The station hummed to life as lights came on. Once again Nov had proved his Engineering skills had not gone to waste.

The lights in the main Rec Room of the crew quarters flickered to life and Cerrus’ suspicions were confirmed in a big way. To his left a Batarian, hidden by the darkness sprang up on him. He grunted as the force of the alien running into him almost knocked him off balance. More came out of the woodwork attacking Kalvaris and Masso; soon the room was embroiled in a close quarters fight.

Where was Nov when you needed him? Cerrus thought as he shoved the Batarian off him and rammed his fist into his throat, the soft tissue was no match for his forceful punch; the alien gagged as his windpipe collapsed.

Victus and Sidda looked up sharply as the lights coming on startled them for a moment. Now they could get a look at the room. Everything seemed to be in order with the exception of an examination table with a mass fffect field protecting the contents. It was flickering, the field was failing. That’s when the alarms started to go off in the lab.

Victus grabbed Sidda’s arm and pulled her back as the field failed. The contents sparked and sputtered as they scrambled away from it. Whatever that stuff was it reacted to not having the field protecting it and exploded with enough force to shove Victus and Sidda out the door they came in. Sidda toppled head over heels and Victus caught the railing with the right side of his head. The ball of fire that followed flashed upward and retreated back into the room. Victus’ head felt like it was about to roll off, that was going to leave a mark for a while.

Sidda righted herself with a groan and looked over to Victus slowly getting to his feet. “Adrien?” she asked and he held up his left hand, waving her off. Inside the Research Lab the explosion set off a worse chain of events. The mass effect field containing another experiment collapsed and the heat from the flames caused the device inside it to explode. A blue ball formed and collapsed in on itself then with a mighty bark exploded outward sending a blue shockwave out in all directions.

The catwalk they were standing on buckled and lurched downward sharply throwing them off their feet. They slid down the cockeyed catwalk until it disappeared from beneath them sending them down into the dark abyss below. It was about 20 to 30 feet down Sidda had guessed but the sudden stop at the end was going to hurt like a bitch. Her body glowed blue as the Biotics generated a biotic field to slow her down. She hit the ground gently but Victus landed hard, his armor protecting him from death.

“Adrien!” she exclaimed as the Turian lay face down on the metal floor. A painful groan escaped his lips as he tried to remember how to breathe. She got to his side and rolled him over; he was conscious and moving around. “My god you are a tough bastard.” She stated relieved that he was still conscious. “Are you okay?”

She helped him sit up as he took in a few deep breaths. “I’m fine.” He growled finally. “Just let me get my breath back.” He said sharply, he never liked being mothered but he had to admit her concern for him was a nice feeling.

**

The station felt as if it were going to implode, the blue shockwave ripped through the station damaging or destroying everything in its path. Balin and Pelonis heard the first explosion and hit the button to close the airlock before trotting toward the research lab. By the time the two of them saw the blue wave coming at them it was too late. Both turned to run but got caught by the menacing force. It tossed them back the direction they had come much like a biotic throw. Balin was thrown into a wall and Pelonis tumbled down the corridor for a few dozen feet before coming to an unconscious halt.

The _Lante_ had detected the initial blast which caused a concern on the CIC. The VI quickly pinpointed the location of the blast and in the seconds that followed detected the energy blast also. “Mass effect shockwave detected.” The VI stated.

The Lante shook and the sound a contorting metal sent crew members scrambling. “Major, docking cradles’ buckling.” Ruvio reported.

Maridus didn’t think he simply reacted. “Shove off. Now!” he barked as the cradle began to groan and contort.

In the span of a few seconds they had reacted to the threat, Ruvio hit the emergency release for the airlock and sudden powerful blast shoved the ship away from the cradle just as it contorted again.

The wave continued it path of destruction through the station to the bitter fight going on with Cerrus’ team. The blue wave did not discriminate and blasted them all into the far wall rendering Masso and Cerrus unconscious on impact as Kalvaris was flung into the wall left side first hard enough to make him yelp. The Batarians followed but aside from the wincing pain of Kalvaris, no one moved.

Nov and company didn’t know what hit them. The station shook violently shortly after Nov flipped the switch and a few moments after that he and his entire team picked up and tossed backward, sideways, or forward into the far wall. Rajin impacted the console hard and fell where she encountered it while Nov, Zek, and Tobius landed in an undignified heap together.

 

The _Lante_ was a flurry of commotion as the CIC witnessed the blue wave spread through the entire station and then dissipate. “Get me the boarding party, now, I don’t care who.” Maridus ordered he just needed to know who was alive, who was dead, or some scrap of news.

“ _Lante_ to boarding party, respond.” The comm officer said. “Boarding party, this is the _Lante_ , please respond.”

The call went unanswered by Nov’s team, as they were all unconscious. Kalvaris was in no position to answer as he could barely move with the damage done to his left side. Both shuttle pilots were unconscious in the main corridor and Sidda and Victus took the brunt of the blast which probably knocked out their comms.

After another few tries the comm officer turned to Maridus. “Major, it’s highly possible that blast knocked out the suit comms.” She said and Maridus shot her a glower.

“Then try the Omni-tools, but please tell me I didn’t just lose two whole teams over there to whatever the hell that was.” He stated and she turned to do as he asked.

Sidda used the light from her Omni-tool to examine the noticeable bruise and subsequent lump forming on the right side of his forehead as he caught the wind that had been knocked out of him. Anything that was bad enough to damage the tough Turian skin plating was a cause for concern, in her mind at least; to him it was another whack to the head. One that hurt like hell, but it would take way more than that to keep the veteran General down.

“Oh, wow, that looks like it hurts.” She commented and he glanced at her quickly.

“Only when I think.” He replied quickly and Sidda blinked.

She narrowed her eyes and cocked her head. “Did you just crack a joke?” she asked and he shot her a look of ‘really?’

“No, I just cracked my head open.” He responded and slowly got to his feet.

“Shepard, to _Lante_.” She said trying her comms. There was no response after a few moments and she tried again. Still nothing.

Victus’ head was throbbing, a hangover felt better than this but his military training kicked in and he pushed the discomfort out tapping his Omni-tool. “Victus, to Maridus do you copy?” he asked and his Omni-tool sprang to life.

“Sir,” Maridus replied and his face appeared on the holo screen on the Omni-tool. “are you okay?”

“More or less.” He replied. “Status?”

“We had to shove off. Whatever that was probably would have ripped the airlock right off the ship.” Maridus replied as Sidda moved around to Victus’ right side looking over his arm at the screen.

**

Cerrus swam out of the blackness and his eyes shot open, startled. What the hell happened? He could hear something moving around. Multiple somethings. He could see his Phaeston lying on the floor a few feet from his right hand. He mustered the energy to move toward it and when his hand got to it a foot stepped on the gun. It was not a Turian foot, the size said Batarian and the smell confirmed it, he looked up catching the sight of the Batarian.

“ _Damn_.” He thought, now he had to fight for it. He got a hand on the Phaeston as the Batarian issued his threat aiming a pistol at him. He yanked the Phaeston away from his foot causing the aim to falter. A single shot discharged past Cerrus’ head, in hindsight a risky as hell move, and he grabbed the gun with his left hand twisting it away and pulled the Talon from his right boot, he rose to his full height ramming the blade into the Batarian’s throat, under his chin. The Batarian let out a gargled scream and spit blood everywhere.

Two more Batarians converged on him as their comrade slumped to the floor. Cerrus turned and found them pouring out of a room that they hadn’t gotten to. They rushed him and he returned the favor charging into the fray. There was a reason Victus put up with his attitude and his record, he was a tenacious fighter. Brutal tactics served him well and he used his speed and height to his advantage. Despite his height he could get low, harder target to hit especially for a Batarian. He always thought they were poor fighters; they only fought against those who couldn’t defend themselves. If there was one thing he hated more than humans it was Slave Traders.

He charged the one on the left leaping in the air and coming down practically on top of him driving the Talon down into the right side of his target’s neck and spun quickly slashing the other one across the face and throat severing an artery. Blood spurted out as Cerrus was hit with something that knocked him backward. He lay there on his back, dazed, armor smoldering.

 _“Fucking incinerate.”_ He thought to himself, there had to be some kind of biotic power mixed in there too for it to knock him on his ass like that. He started to get up and rolled onto his stomach rising to his knees looking in the direction of where the hit had apparently come from.

“Behave yourself.” A deep voice warned, he saw a Batarian approaching flanked by three more. “Or your people die.” He continued aiming his pistol at someone Cerrus identified as Masso.

Cerrus looked around the room to find Kalvaris and found him against the same wall he woke up on and not too far from him. He was at least visibly moving watched by a Batarian with a shotgun. He weighed his options and, tactically, he had none that were good. He tossed the Talon toward the Batarian. It clattered to the ground and he cursed to himself.

**

Nov groaned as he woke up and started to move around, he sat up and promptly regretted it as his head told him all about impacting the wall. Someone else was moving too. “Zek? Tobius? Deliah?”

“Yeah.” A voice answered. That deep raspy voice was Zek’s end of story.

On the other side of him someone else moved, Tobius. Nov sat himself up and he scanned the area.; Zek and Tobius landed with him but where was Rajin. His eyes fell on a figure about 10 feet from him on the other side of the console he had been working on. The black Barristin hand print on her face was a dead giveaway to who it was. “Deliah?” he asked. His mind raced when she didn’t answer and he started to panic. “Oh, no, Deliah?” he said out loud and scrambled over to her damning the pain he body told him.

He rolled her over carefully and looked her over, her armor was intact and she didn’t look too worse for wear. “Deliah?” he started. “Deliah, can you hear me?” this was why he didn’t date squad mates. He was panicking right now, learning that she liked him and then spending the leave with her was a bad idea and now he was kicking himself for it. She gasped after a moment and her eyes shot opened. “Oh, thank Spirits.” He breathed out. “You okay?”

Rajin’s chest and abdomen hurt, something was broken. Breathing hurt, it really hurt but she nodded putting on the tough face. Nov stood and carefully helped her to her feet. She winced and let out a squeak of pain. Nov eyed his medic and didn’t have to say anything.

“I’m fine.” She breathed out through a few quick shallow breaths.

“Just take a minute.” He said and she didn’t argue with that leaning against the console that had been so cruel to her. “ _Lante_ , this is Nov. Do you copy?” he asked.

A few seconds later his Omni-tool chirped to life. _“Nov, this is Shepard, what’s your status?”_

Nov looked around and really couldn’t complain much. “Well, we’re whole…kind of. What was that?” he asked looking at the little screen his Omni-tool produced. Sidda looked fine but the location they were in was dark with an orange hue to it.

“Good question.” She replied. “Did you turn the power back on?”

Nov nodded. “Yeah. Something tripped the stations’ VI to place it in Failsafe mode, minimal power use. Then the VI was locked down, took me a minute to crack the Failsafe and the VI.” He explained quickly.

“Well, it worked. You turned the power back on and the lab exploded.” She stated and Victus’ visibly bruised face appeared on the screen. “Maybe those Failsafes were in for a reason.” She commented, she wasn’t accusing him of anything but Nov couldn’t help but shoulder the burden of this being his fault.

“Wait. Wait. Wait. You’re telling me I did this? The explosion, all of it, this is my fault?” he asked quickly, now kicking himself for rushing through his repair of the system.

“Lieutenant, focus.” Victus snapped, his tone wasn’t meant to blame it was meant to snap his engineer back on course. “We’re stuck in a damn hole and can’t raise Cerrus’ team, Balin, or Pelonis. Take someone and go find them.” He ordered and Nov nodded.

Nov blinked a few times to get ahold of himself. “Yes, Sir, do you two need assistance?” he asked before they disconnected.

Victus shook his head. “No. Not yet. We’re fine, go find them first.”

Nov gave him a sharp nod as the Omni-tool communication closed and turned to his team. “Rajin, Tobius stay here. Zek with me.” He ordered decisively.

Rajin stood up straight curious as to why he didn’t have the medic come along. “I’ll go, they could be injured.”

Nov said nothing and looked her up and down. She was visibly in pain but it was best not to argue with her, she was a tough as they came and had a valid point. He simply gave her a slight nod and looked to Zek and Tobius. “Keep your guard up.” He said to which they nodded as Rajin and Nov left.

**

The CIC was still buzzing, the ship got lucky, they sustained no damage because of the emergency release but the problem now was the docking cradle. It was warped and contorted to the point even if it could be used it was too dangerous. Maridus was talking to a group of engineers trying to figure out what to do next. The sensors read that the stations airlock had been closed so all they needed to do was get around the damaged docking cradle. They had also deduced that the big blue blast was similar to Warp, hence the damage. Maridus had ordered the stations files unlocked to find out exactly what was on the station. He was probably going to pay for the decision to declassify classified information but at this point he didn’t care.

As Maridus left Ruvio in charge he headed toward the lift to get into his armor. He was going to lead the team to collect the rest. “Uhh, Major,” Ruvio said before he got there. He turned to look at her, her tone catching his interest. “we’re being hailed.”

Maridus didn’t see the concern. “Are comms back up?” he asked.

“Negative, it’s from the station.” She said he walked back over to the communications station.

“Put it on.” He said and the face of a Batarian showed up.

 _“Turian vessel, you may like to know that I am no holding 12 scientists and 3 of your boarding party. You are to cease and desist and vacate the area or I will kill the prisoners.”_ He stated. Maridus didn’t take threats lightly, especially those from Batarians.

He narrowed his gaze at the Batarian. “You attacked a Turian station inside Turian space, if you kill them I will destroy that station and then I will personally lead the empire in destroying that despicable planet you come from.” He growled, it was not an idle threat; the Empire was likely to take this as an act of war no matter what the Hegemony said anyway.

The Batarian, however, simply brushed off his threat. _“I think not.”_ He replied simply. _“You have one hour.”_ The screen when black and Ruvio looked to him.

“Get me Victus.” He said and turned to the team who was looking over the stations experiments. “Do you have anything yet?” he asked referring to anything of value that the Batarians would want. He shook his head and Ruvio got Victus on her Omni-tool. “General, we have a problem.” He stated.

Victus and Sidda were in the process of trying to dig themselves out of their hole, checking for access panels and other passages out. So far nothing. His Omni-tool beeped incessantly until he tapped it revealing Maridus and his message. Victus scoffed to Maridus’ comment. “Just one?” he replied.

Maridus quickly rattled off the new problem and Sidda cursed. “I don’t know who’s unaccounted for.” He said and the officer he had working on the classified information scurried over to him handing him a data pad. “Stand by.” He quickly read the screen and cackled in disbelief, this was going from bad to worse. “Sir, you’re not going to believe this…along with that wonderfully destructive Warp field, this station had two other main experiments, a mass effect field to block any and all life signs which obviously works and Black Hole Device. If I blow up that station like I just threatened to I’d take the entire damn galaxy with it.”

“Still think this wasn’t sanctioned by the Hegemony?” Sidda asked and Victus had to agree.

“Who is unaccounted for?” Maridus asked.

“Balin, Pelonis, and Cerrus’ team.” He replied. “Nov’s on his way to find them, keep me apprised. Victus out.” He said quickly and brought up Nov telling him exactly what Maridus just told him.

Nov and Rajin had found Balin and Pelonis and starting to render aid when Victus called them with the new problem, or rather, same problem just with a twist. They were the only ones free to find Cerrus since Sidda and Victus were still stuck. They checked pulses and headed off.

“God damn, fucking, four-eyed, big headed, ugly fucking Batarians.” Sidda bitched and Victus cocked his head to her. She was irritated and he knew that. The Batarians had been the bane of her existence for a long time, today was no different.

“Well, if it’s any consolation I don’t think they like you either.” He replied and she gave him a glare.

There was no way out of this pit. Why was it even here? The flooring didn’t come up, the access points were ventilation points that neither of them could squeeze into the only thing that opened a possibility was the way they came down, the broken, cockeyed, catwalk. She saw Victus looking at it and could see the wheels turning in the seasoned General’s mind. “What are you looking at?” she asked standing next to him.

“Our way out.” He said and she looked at the gap of 20 plus feet from them to the jagged grate.

That wasn’t a way out, not without a rope, latter, spring board, whatever. “Yeah, Honey, I can’t jump that high.” She stated and he smirked.

“Well without a running start, neither can I.” he replied and Sidda fell off his thought train.

“So if neither one of us can reach that, how is that our way out, oh Fearless Leader?” she asked, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

Victus shrugged. “Bring it down with something.” He replied.

“With what? My good looks?” she asked rising her tone slightly.

Victus huffed and scowled at her. “ _You’re_ the biotic, do something.”

Leave it to him to remind her that she was a biotic. In her frustration, she forgot that she might have something of use. She said nothing due to her embarrassment to which Victus simply chuckled, he could think of worse things than being stuck down here with her. Too bad they had pressing matters or he’d finish what he started earlier.

Sidda surveyed the catwalk thinking of what to use. She’d give her right arm for Pull right about now, that was one she didn’t have and until now had no desire for. Her most powerful power was Warp but she didn’t know what it was going to do, if anything. “Alright stand clear.” She said and Victus moved over to stand near her, probably the safest place. She stood off to the left of the catwalk under the upper part. She mustered the blue ball in her right hand and released it at the base that was still attached hoping to weaken it slightly. Nothing happened and she cursed. She thought of something else and didn’t change her position mustering a Singularity and sending it to meet the other mass effect field. There was a bright blue explosion as the unstable fields touched. The damaged catwalk shook and dropped a few feet.

“Hit it again.” Victus said and she turned to look to look at him.

“You sure? If that thing comes down we’re screwed.” She replied but his order remained. He didn’t have to say anything and she turned back to the inanimate target. She repeated the process, the catwalk shoot again, violently and dropped down more with the sound of scraping and contorting metal.

Victus got closer to judge the height and decided that was close enough at around 10 feet. It had to do because anymore and they risked bringing the thing down on their heads. “Alright, come on.” He said and crouched down as she put her left hand on his right shoulder placing her left foot in his hands. She got a grip on the carapace of his armor and he stood to his full height with like she wasn’t even there. She grabbed the grate and he pushed her up onto it.

The metal creaked and whined painfully as she crawled up it locking her fingers in the holes. When she got far enough up Victus demonstrated that Turians could jump a good distance from a standstill. With the prowess of a cat he leapt up grabbing the grate with his claws and hauled the rest of himself up. The catwalk swayed with his weight and creaked and scraped. He lingered for a moment hoping it would hold a little longer, Sidda scurried up the weakened metal reaching above her head to grab the relatively undamaged portion of the walkway near the opposite door she pulled herself to something solid as Victus came up as quick as he could without bringing the whole thing down. She offered him her hand but he didn’t take it.

The lab was still burning and she hoped the Black Hole Device was shielded and unaffected by the catastrophic explosion that put them in this mess otherwise this whole thing was moot. The weakened, half broken walkway separated them from reaching the lost Phaeston, Victus’, lost when he did a header into the railing.

**

Rajin blocked the pain out of her mind, she broke something probably a rib or two or three. Nov was worried about her but kept it to himself, now was not the time or place and he knew her, she wouldn’t let pain stop her.

Victus and Sidda made their way through the now lit station corridor. They sped up to a trot when they saw two men down. Victus went to Pelonis and Sidda knelt down next to Balin. Balin stirred and let out a groan of pain. There was blood coming from his nose and he didn’t look too well.

“Easy, easy.” Sidda said and stopped him from moving too much beyond laying him on his back.

“Sergeant?” Victus asked seeing if Pelonis was able to come to. Pelonis startled and immediately regretted the sharp movements. “You alright, Soldier?” he asked helping him sit up.

Pelonis groaned and collected his thoughts. “Yes, Sir.”

The Omni-tool beeped to life and Victus grumbled tapping it. “Go ahead.”

 _“Sir, you might want to get up here.”_ Nov stated quickly.

Sidda looked up from assessing Balin; Nov’s tone said it all. “Go.” She said and Victus didn’t question it. “I’ll stay with them.”

“No.” Pelonis said scooting over to lean against the wall. “You two go I’ll stay with him.” He said and Sidda looked at him concerned for his injuries also. “I’m fine, Commander, go.”

With that Sidda and Victus headed up to the next level finding Nov and Rajin holding position outside.

“Rajin, get back down to Balin and Pelonis.” Victus ordered and she looked at him not too happy with his decision. She opened her mouth to protest then remembered who she was talking to. Victus gave an order and that was the end of it. She nodded her response and headed back down to the previous level.

“It’s locked and I haven’t come across Tyr and or anyone else so I’m assuming they’re in there.” Nov said and Victus took in the report from Nov.

Victus was silent for a moment. “Think you can hack it?” he asked and Nov blinked, of course he could.

“Uhh, yeah, I can hack my way into anything but don’t we risk them killing everyone in there?” he clarified and Sidda looked to Victus then to Nov.

“Well, if we don’t and they get their hands on that Black Hole Device this end of the galaxy is in some serious fucking shit.” She reminded and that was it in a nutshell.

“If it even works.” Nov replied and Sidda gave him a huff.

“Well, how about we assume that it does, do you really want to risk the Batarians getting it?” she asked and Nov understood her point.

“Point taken.” Nov conceded. “So, exactly how do we do this without losing everyone in there?”

Sidda looked over at Victus. “The floor is open.”

“Maintenance shaft.” Victus said after a long quiet moment then got up quietly heading back down the way they came with Sidda and Nov in tow. He led them back to the opening off the side of the walkway and gestured to it. Sidda missed it on the way in; lucky for them Victus was on the ball.

“But where does it lead?” Nov pondered out loud the same question the rest were wondering. It did them no good if the shaft exposed them or lead them astray.

**

Maridus left the CIC long enough to put his armor on, he treated it like a Combat drop and had his armor on in under a minute. _“Major.”_ His comm beeped.

It was Ruvio, what was it now? This mission was starting to suck on countless levels. “What is it, Lieutenant?” he asked arming himself, if they got the opportunity to get on the station he wanted to lead it and not waste time prepping himself later.

 _“We’re picked up a LADAR ping on the edge of our sense horizon.”_ She said and he hoped it was one of theirs.

“Turian?”

 _“I wish.”_ She replied reflecting the same irritation he was feeling. _“VI paints it as a Batarian Frigate.”_

Maridus knew that was coming and shook his head. “I’m on my way back up. Have them keep working on the comms.” He said and slammed the locker shut heading out and getting back up the CIC as quick as he could. “Spirits, what next?” he mumbled.

 _“All hands to battle stations.”_ He heard Ruvio’s voice say over the intercom.

Maridus headed up to the CIC and heaved a sigh as he stepped from the lift. “Zara, range?”

Ruvio looked over her shoulder. “Almost within weapons range.” She replied. “They seem to holding back.”

“Holding position outside weapons range…sounds like they’re not sure if they want to take us on.” Maridus added. “This doesn’t make sense, damnit, they gotta know we’re not going to cut and run.”

His Omni-tool beeped to life and he tapped it quickly. “Go ahead.”

 _“Damar, we need a sematic of the station, more specifically a secondary way into the living quarters.”_ Victus said and Maridus took his eyes away from the monitor showing the Batarian vessel approaching.

He moved over to a station and tapped a few keys on the console bringing up a detailed image of the science station. Whatever Victus needed would be in there. “I’m sending it to your Omni-tool, General; I can’t help you right now.” Maridus stated. “I’m about to have my hands full with Batarian Frigate.”

Victus paused on the other end of the comm. _“Frigate? Is it flying Hegemony colors?”_

Maridus didn’t know that, at least not yet. “I don’t know, Sir, I’ll have to ask them but I’m going to have to let you go because I’m about become very busy.” He said and tapped the comm off.

“Sir, I’ve got comms up.” An engineer said quickly, finally some good news, not like it would help this situation too much.

“Send a message to Palaven Command. Apprise them of the situation and request aid.” Maridus babbled out quickly while heading up look over the shoulder of Ruvio.

“Batarian vessel within weapons range.” Ruvio informed.

“Hail them.” He said. “Batarian vessel, this is the _PFS Lante_ , you are in violation of Turian space and on direct approach to a Hierarchy station. Alter course and leave our space immediately or you will be fired on. I repeat, do not approach the station. Stand down and return to your space.”

Alarms went off after a few moments of tense silence. “They’re increasing speed, Major, and charging weapons.” Ruvio informed. “I don’t think they got the point.” She added dryly.

Maridus shook his head at the stupidity of the Batarians. They were so eager to wage war against the Humans they were going to spark a conflict with the Turians. “Stupid bastards.” He hissed. “Target their drive core. Do not let them reach that station.”

**

With Maridus busy with a space battle, Victus, Sidda, and Nov had to move quickly. They hovered over Victus’ Omni-tool getting a look at where that particular shaft led. The device they were after, one of them anyway, was still working and blocking all life signs. The best they could do was guess.

“Look at that, come out right here, under the floor.” Nov said.

Sidda noticed a large room to the rear of the living quarters. “It’s still a huge risk. Look at that room,” she said pointing to the open space. “that’s where I’d be, hard to get to without being seen.”

“It’s a chance we have to take, Sid, we can’t wait around all day for this.” Victus said and she heaved a sigh. “We’re going to have to be quick, very quick, no misses.” They watched as Victus tapped his Omni-tool. “Rajin, get back up here.”

After a minute or two Rajin appeared, gingerly walking but she tried her damnedest to hide it. “Yes, Sir?” There was a moment as Victus looked the Lieutenant up and down, her demeanor was pained but he knew the medic well enough to know she wouldn’t sit it out. He explained his plan to the three of them. It was simple. Sneak in and get into position then snipe the bad guys. They probably could have done with the help of Zek and Tobius but there came a point when too many people would hinder more than help so they were sent to see to the injured pilots.

“Deliah, are you up for this?” Sidda asked also noticing the same pained look that the others noticed.

“The next person who asks me that is going to get shot.” She replied annoyed and Nov let out a chuckle. “Let’s get this done.”

The four of them headed down the ever narrowing maintenance shaft, when it stopped Victus looked up. There was nothing above them but without a better look he couldn’t be sure where everyone else was. The grate covering the shaft lifted straight off. That was going to be a bitch to do so silently. He gestured to Nov to lift the opposite side so they could get the cover off.

Not even a peep was heard as Nov and Victus demonstrated the definition of stealth. They carefully removed the access grate. No sound was heard, the metal was very gently set off to the side by Victus and he was the first out of the access shaft. Nov gestured for Sidda to go next; Sidda lifted herself out of the shaft and quickly and quietly rolled off to the side taking cover behind a wall near Victus. She peered around the corner to see into the room she had been so worried about.

Victus noticed she had been right; there were exactly where she had said they were. Rajin followed Nov out of the shaft lifting her broken body out feeling shooting pain through her body. She stifled a painful yelp and Nov looked down at her, he noticed her pained look and helped get her out of the shaft and over to the cover across from Victus without making noise.

Nov looked from her to Victus across the hall. Nothing needed to be said but Victus was concerned for how this would play out if Rajin gave it all away. Rajin caught Victus’ gaze and nodded as the pain subsided within her.

The four of them surveyed the other room. There were about six Batarians and three dead ones, they could see Cerrus on his knees in the middle of the room, they could see blood on his armor and could see what could have been Masso and Kalvaris. Victus gestured to Rajin and Nov to take the Batarians on their side. If somebody missed this could get hairy.  
The four of them readied their weapons and on Victus’ count ambushed the pirates bent on starting a war.

Precise shots rang out of their weapons taking heads off. It was head shots or nothing; put them down fast and permanently. The captured scientists let out a scream as they ducked for cover. There were actually eight hostage takers and Nov took down one as Rajin hit two in rapid succession.

Victus and Sidda took out the first ones that crossed their path and Sidda saw what was probably the lead Pirate turn his gun on Cerrus, she aimed her Phaeston tightly and fired twice, the Batarians head disappeared and the room fell silent as the last man fell.

“Clear?” they heard Rajin asked. Despite her obviously injured state she actually made it further into the living quarters than anyone one else.

“Clear.” Victus replied. “Nov, get the door.”

Cerrus locked eyes with Sidda, she saved him. He took his eyes away from her and looked at the body still unconscious by the wall. “Check on Masso. Kalvaris, are you okay?” he said getting to his feet. His hands were bound behind his back but Nov paused at him before heading to the door. He placed his Omni-tool on the link for the cuffs and let his cipher do its thing. After a second or two the cuffs unlocked and dropped to the floor. Cerrus patted his friends arm and Nov headed toward the door.

Rajin made her way over to the still unconscious body of Masso, Kalvaris was awake and seemed to be okay but something was amiss with Masso.

“Tyr, you okay?” Victus asked as the Taetrus native looked to Victus.

“Yes, Sir.” He replied and looked down as Sidda who was tending the dead Batarians collecting their weapons. “Commander.” He said and she looked up at him. “Thank you.”

Sidda replied with a slight nod. It was strange getting a compliment or a thank you from him; it was like hell freezing over.

**

The _Lante_ shook as the Batarian frigate returned fire and connected with the barriers. This fight wasn’t going to be very long, they may have both been frigates but the _Lante_ definitely outclassed the Batarian one.

“Hail them.” Maridus ordered, he was giving the frigate one last chance to bug out. “Batarian Frigate, stand down or you will be destroyed.” The ship shook again as the Batarians fired on them again. It took a few more shots from the _Lante_ to bring down the defenses on the Batarian Frigate. The Turians built ships to kick ass and the _Lante_ was one of best frigates in the fleet, second to the aging _Ramora_. The drive core was hit and the Batarian frigate was left as vulnerable as could be.

“Frigates drive core’s hit all weapons and barriers off line.” Ruvio said and looked to Maridus.

“Hail them again.” He said. “Batarian vessel, surrender your vessel and prepare to be boarded or you will be dest-…” his transmission was cut off as the ship that had been defeated exploded. The frigate exploded and the _Lante_ rocked from the shockwave and caused a few alarms to go off. “I said hail them, not shoot them.”

Ruvio was innocent and held up her hands. “It wasn’t us, Major, it self-destructed.” She said and flipped a few buttons then looked up at him.

The station didn’t escape the shockwave from the ship, it shook enough to unbalance everyone and Victus steadied Sidda as she fell into him. “Always safe in his arms.” Sidda thought to herself and allowed a smile.

“Maridus, what’s going on?” Victus asked his hands still on Sidda.

 _“The frigate destroyed itself, Sir, rather than be taken.”_ He replied and Victus was surprised to hear his voice coming from the comms not the Omni-tool. _“How are things going over there?”_ he asked.

“Station’s secure.” Victus replied. “We need medics and engineers over here.” He said and turned his attention to the scientists they just rescued.

“Doctor…” he began and realized he didn’t know the lead Turian scientists name.

“Paigius.” She said and approached the General, relieved to see them. She was average height with what looked like the same markings that Victus had.

“Dr. Paigius, my name is Gen. Victus, I’m afraid we made a bit of a mess of your station.” Victus said and small Turian female could see that but hardly blamed it all on Victus and his rescue party.

“Oh I hardly think this is all your fault, General.” She replied to him and shook the General’s hand. “Thank you.”

“No, it’s all his…” Sidda put in gesturing to Nov. “he flipped the switch.”

Nov stood up straight and glowered at her. “Yes…I knew exactly what was going to happen when I pressed that button, and in spite of that I did it anyway.” He sniped.

“Yes…thanks a lot Nov.” Cerrus added and Nov rolled his eyes to their teasing.

“What happened here, anyway?” Sidda asked and the Turian female looked to Victus. Victus nodded to her, whatever classified information was already out of the bag and that was something he was going to punished dearly for.

“The Batarians breached the station with a small shuttle. They were very well coordinated and took the station pretty quickly, but they tripped the failsafe when they tried to hack the VI with their shuttle.” She said and Nov cocked his head to her.

“Failsafe?” he asked.

“When the VI detected the hack it sent a feedback into their system causing a chain reaction in their shuttles system. Originally, the feedback is designed to short out Omni-tools and computers to prevent tampering. Apparently the shuttle couldn’t handle it.” She explained and Nov closed his eyes dropping his head.

“And when they tripped the failsafe the VI put the entire station into secure mode focusing on life support and protecting the lab.” Nov said finally realizing what had happened. “I should have seen it; I should have brought the power back up one system at a time instead of all at once. I caused a power surge that destabilized the safety protocols in the lab.” He said and Dr. Paigius cocked her head to him.

“You bypassed the system and brought it back online?” she asked and Nov nodded.

“Yeah. See told ya.” Sidda said. “His fault.”

Paigius shook her head looking the red faced Turian up and down. “No. No. I’m impressed. For a Combat Engineer you’re good.” She said and Sidda narrowed her eyes, it sounded like she was flirting with him.

Nov caught the tone along with everyone else and looked to Sidda and Rajin. “See that. I’m good and I’m impressive.” He smirked and they both narrowed their eyes to him.

“Get outta here.” Sidda said in the same tone as she did in the locker room earlier. “I’ll punch him for ya, Deliah, if you’re not feeling up to it.”

“No, I’ll just shoot him.” She replied as her Omni-tool hovered over Masso. “Vehl’s gonna be okay. Just a concussion, he’ll be fine but we should get back to Holum just in case.”

Victus’ head was pounding, between going head first into the deck railing and then a 40 foot fall he was beginning to feel his age. “Yep…concussions all around.” He said. “Thorrin is gonna be a very busy man very soon.” He added, and scanned the room deciding now was the time to get back to giving orders and getting the hell off this station so he could camp in Holum’s bay until his brain stopped pounding. He wasn’t looking forward to the debriefing with Command, allowing Sidda access to classified data was going to royally piss off the Primarch.


	9. Who's Like Us?

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Nine: Who’s Like Us?

 

“Well, I couldn’t just ask her to cover her ears and hum, Sir.” Victus defended. He’d been dealing with the backlash of allowing Sidda to overhear the classified data on _Talas_ for about a week now, as expected the Hierarchy was less than thrilled with the decision. He was also taking the heat for Maridus who accessed the files despite the lack of clearance.

“You shouldn’t have had her there in the first place, Adrien. It seems like you have forgotten that she is not a member of your crew.” Fedorian stated and Victus blinked with a scoff.

“Primarch, you knew I was taking her. You told me to keep her in line. You have received my reports and know full well how valuable she is.” He reminded firmly, Victus had no qualms going head to head with the Primarch; he was viewed as a wild card anyway so may as well embrace it. “Shepard is an extremely valuable resource and I wasn’t about to leave her out of this mission because of some classified data that she _might_ come across.” He added in a harsher tone.

Fedorian cocked his head to the forceful general, Victus was a hell of an officer and he’d have better luck harnessing an ion storm then controlling Victus. “Mind your tone, General, you can be replaced and don’t ever forget that.”

Victus straightened, taking the hard line with the Primarch wasn’t the best idea he’d ever had but one way or another he was going to get his point across. “Reprimand me if you like, Primarch, but I stand by my decision and the decision of my first officer.” He said his words didn’t please the Primarch one bit but it was as close as he was going to get to Victus saying he was wrong.

“Very well.” Fedorian replied the dissatisfaction evident in his tone.

“And Primarch, Shepard may not be a Turian but she is most definitely a member of my crew and I will stand by and defend her as such.” Victus had a reputation of being extremely defensive of his hand-picked crew which was a big reason for his popularity among his troops.

Fedorian said nothing to that comment and tapped a button off the screen and the monitor went black. Victus sighed tipping his head back. That was going to be a bad one. That decision was going to have lasting consequences.

**

Sidda made her way through the corridor and to the Rec Room, she found Maridus sitting at the table with a cup of the Turian coffee that smelled an awful lot like hot licorice. He was engrossed in a stack of datapads that he was separating into two piles. “Hey,” she greeted and stood across from him but didn’t sit down. “you seen Victus?”

Maridus didn’t look up from what he was reading. “He’s arguing, probably.” He replied and Sidda cocked her head with a furrowed brow.

“Arguing?” she asked and Maridus still didn’t look up.

“With the Primarch.” He clarified. “He’s still in some hot water about what happened on _Talas_.”

That didn’t alleviate Sidda’s confusion and she pulled the chair out sitting down on it. “The explosion? That wasn’t his fault. It was Nov’s.” she said and Maridus chuckled at the continuing blame on his junior officer. Nov was, hands down, the single best Engineer he’d ever seen but he couldn’t have foreseen the destruction to follow so it was all in good fun teasing now.

He looked up at her finally and shook his head. “No, not that, the classified data that you saw and overheard.” He clarified. “He’s in a lot of trouble over that. I mean a lot of trouble.”

Sidda leaned forward placing her elbows on the table. “Why? There was nothing he could have done I was suck down there with him.” She said and Maridus nodded going back to his reading.

“That’s what he said.” Maridus replied. “He’s been warring with the Hierarchy for about a week now, he has to explain himself to Fedorian via comm. That’s what he’s doing now.”

Sidda thought a moment about how to ask the next question. “How…umm, how bad-…” she stammered still trying to think of how to ask.

Maridus looked up from his reading. “How bad of trouble can he get in?” he asked beating her to the punch and she nodded. “A lot.” He replied with a sigh. “But it pays to have his reputation. He’ll be fine.” He said and went back to reading another datapad.

Sidda narrowed her eyes and looked at the datapads. “What are you doing?” she asked.

“The not so fun part of my job as first officer.” He replied. “Performance reviews, requisition requests, you know…responsible stuff.” He said and she chuckled.

“Anything good?” she asked as Maridus went through another data pad chuckling.

**

After Victus’s ass chewing he headed to the mess hall, he was frustrated but more irritated with Fedorian’s attitude towards his resolution of the situation. Crew members parted the corridor as he walked by him. He ran his ship military but didn’t require his men to salute him for simply walking down the hall. He nodded to a few of them as he passed but continued walking.

“General.” Sidda stated walking toward him. He paused as a few crew members walked past trying their best not to linger as Sidda got to Victus. His crew knew something was up between them. He sighed deciding to deal with that mess a little later. It was bad enough Maridus knew already and he was certain Nov knew.

“Commander.” He regarded and his tone made her cock her head.

“Judging by your tone I’m gonna say your chat with the higher ups didn’t go so well.” She said and he turned away from her with a sigh, obviously she had been talking to Maridus.

“Well, it sure wasn’t fun.” He replied and entered the mess hall in search for a snack. “It never is when you’re defending those under your command.” Sidda sensed frustration and irritation and let his short tone go.

Sidda paced him and blinked with a nod. “I’ll try to remember that.” She replied and he looked down at her with a snort.

He collected a few things but no tray as he wasn’t staying to eat. “I should have known better, taking you along on a mission is like a curse.” He grumbled then kicked himself for saying that out loud, when he was annoyed his brain to mouth filter didn’t always work.

Sidda paused to his words, by his tone she didn’t think he was joking. “Well, I guess I’ll leave you until you’re in a more pleasant mood.” She replied and headed out; he huffed and still couldn’t believe he said that out loud. He dropped the items he had on the counter and headed back out into the corridor to catch her.

“Sidda,” he called breaking into a jog to catch her. “I’m sorry.” He said cutting in front of her. “I didn’t mean that.”

She let out a sigh to his apology. “It’s okay. To be fair, you did do a header into a railing then took a 30 foot fall.” She said and looked up at him. “How much trouble are you in, Adrien?” she asked seriously.

Victus shrugged. “Enough.” He replied with a sigh. “But no more than I’m usually in. When the Council approved your presence on this ship you signed a non-disclosure agreement.”

Sidda nodded. “I remember.” She nodded and after a moment allowed a smile. “The Hierarchy can’t touch you because I can’t repeat anything I’ve seen without facing Turian law.”

“But that doesn’t mean the Primarch can’t make my life a living hell.” He said and let a pack of crewmen pass them. Keeping their relationship from the crew was getting harder and they both knew it. “I’ll be fine…thanks.”

**

Being a frigate the _Lante_ could feasibly land on any planet to discharge its core but Victus never liked landing, using a gas giant was easier and tactically smarter. They were orbiting the Hydrogen giant and letting the core discharge so they didn’t fry the crew.

Maridus stepped off the lift and took up his usual station. The annoyed huff that Victus heard made him smile inwardly. “How are the reviews coming, Damar?” he asked and Maridus glowered at him.

Maridus huffed again. “Ten years later, you know damn well I hate doing those.” He replied. “Why do you make me do them?”

Victus scoffed. “It’s an XO thing.” He stated and Maridus cackled his dislike.

“It’s a pain in the ass thing.” He replied as the console to his right started to beep catching his attention.

He tapped a few buttons on the comm station then looked over the shoulder of the officer seated the next station over. “General, we’re picking up an Alliance distress signal.” Maridus said and Victus turned away from his position by the Galaxy Map.

“Let’s hear it.” He replied moving over to Maridus’ station.

 _“Allianc…37th Division, we’re under…attac…we…trapped by Batarian…irates.”_ The message was distorted and garbled but they got the gist of it.

“Comms, clean up that transmission and pinpoint it. Damar, get Cdr. Shepard up here.” Victus ordered and tapped a few buttons on the console for a general reading on the origin of the signal.

After a few minutes later Sidda appeared in the CIC and stood by Victus. “You rang, Sir?” She asked and he looked down at her.

“We picked up a distress call from an Alliance team in this system.” He stated and punched up a cleaner version of the message they’d just received. It was still garbled but Sidda got the gist of the message.

“The 37th?” she said out loud to no one in particular.

Victus looked down at her. “Do you know them?” he asked and she shook her head.

“Know of. They’re an advance team…scouting for possible colonies, resources, forward bases, things like that. Normally a seven man team, soldiers and engineers.” She stated and thought a moment; Batarians seemed to be the center of galactic misery to her. “Ran into pirates…Batarian bastards.” She hissed causing Victus to cock his head to her.

“We’re in range, General.” The Comm station reported and Victus turned his attention to the comm. “Transmission’s coming from one of the planets in this system.”

“Open a channel.” He said and paused a moment for them to comply. “This is the _PFS Lante_ ; we have received your distress call and inbound to help, do you copy?”

There was a pause then the comm came alive. _“God, I never thought I’d be happy to hear from a Turian ship.”_

Sidda snorted quietly but said nothing. “We’re sending down reinforcements, be there as soon as we can.” He told them and then tapped the comm to close it turning to Sidda. “Take your team and Cerrus’.” He said and Sidda nodded turning away from him heading out. “Zara, status of the core?”

“70% purged, Sir.” She replied quickly.

70% would have to do, the soldiers didn’t have all day and the last thing he needed was the let this team die when Sidda was on board. “Pack it up, we’re leaving. Max speed.”

It didn’t take long for both teams to gear up and start heading down in their shuttle. Sidda checked her rifle and looked up at her team. After spending a few days in medical the two people who were the most severely injured were back to 100%. Balin and Rajin had both sustained a respectable amount of broken ribs, concussions, and Rajin’s uniquely painful broken sternum.

“Balin, what do you got?” she asked moving toward the cockpit of the shuttle to get a look at whatever was going on down on the planet.

She looked over his shoulder to the view screen. “A firestorm.” He replied.

“37th, this is Cdr. Shepard, fire a flare so we can find your position.” She said and they didn’t question the human voice on the other line and seconds later they saw a single flare go up which identified the Alliance team.

 _“Commander, this is LCdr. Travis, things are getting…dicey.”_ He stated through the comm. _“They’re not letting up and we’re backed into a wall.”_

Sidda continued to hover over Balin’s shoulder gripping the back of his seat as turbulence shook the shuttle. “Hang in there, Travis, ETA one minute.”

“Check that out.” Balin said. “They’re backed into that ridgeline. The only spot big enough to put us down is to the left of their cover but they’ll be exposed to enemy fire when they break cover to get to us. We gotta get in there, Commander.”

Sidda patted his shoulder, he was right but with a wave of a Batarian Pirates equivalent to a fucking brigade that was easier said than done. She tapped her Omni-tool to contact the other shuttle. “Cerrus, clobber that oncoming wave. Give them something else to shoot at while we swing in behind you and pick them up. Keep their attention on you, you’re our cover.”

Cerrus didn’t like taking orders from her but her strategy was sound. _“Understood.”_

“Zek, when that door opens you jump on that gun and pound the hell out of that line.” She ordered as she felt the shuttle shutter while it made its decent. “You ready for this?” she asked Nov as he stood from his seat to stand next to her.

He shimmied around in his armor and gave her a smirk. “Ready and willing, Commander.” He replied confidently.

Rajin hit the control on the door and it slid open revealing a hell of a fire storm. Nov and Sidda dove for the sides of the door to cover as Balin rotated the shuttle to protect the open side from enemy fire.

Sidda dove out the door and scrambled to the boulder that a few soldiers were taking cover behind. “LCdr. Travis?” she asked.

“Cdr. Shepard, I’d say it was an honor but I’d rather save that for later when we’re not cornered.” He replied.

“Agreed.” She replied. “Alright, make for the shuttle. Deliah! Cal! Cover fire.”

Her plan was working like it was supposed to; the second shuttle was acting as a shield for the exposed stretch to get the Alliance soldier from cover to the shuttle. Sidda and Nov ducked out and scurried for the boulders the men were using as cover. Only a handful of soldiers were left, two were wounded. Nov took one as another Alliance soldier helped his comrade.

On the second shuttle the starboard side door was open and the main gun was wreaking havoc on the attacking Batarians, Cerrus, Kalvaris, Masso had all opened fire with assault rifles to discourage the attacking Batarians. Pelonis had found something that could really fuck up the Batarians day.

“Captain, found a target, looks like a fueling tanker or some kind of APC.” He stated. “It’s proximity to the Batarians is ideal.”

Cerrus fired a burst down making his target duck behind cover quickly. “So blow it up.” He replied, unsure why Pelonis hadn’t done it yet.

“I’d have to break position to get a shot.” He heard him reply, that was why.

Cerrus didn’t even hesitate. “Do it.”

The change in engine noise from shuttle two made Sidda spin, what she was saw one of the last things she wanted to see. First was the shuttle going down after being hit, this was the second one, the shuttle breaking its position. “Cerrus! No, we need your cover!” Sidda shouted as Cerrus’ shuttle broke from its cover position and went after the greater Batarian force. The problem was it opened Sidda and Argo unit up to heavy weapon fire from the oncoming. “Damnit! No! Nov, cover fire!” she shouted and gestured for the two soldiers with her to get down behind something. “Cerrus, what the hell are you doing?” she barked into the comm.

Nov immediately turned to her order and dropped down to one knee sending precision shots into the still very angry enemy line. As he dropped, the one wounded soldier he was escorting found at least one sprint left in him and made it to the safety of the shuttle.

This rescue that was going fine suddenly unraveled right before their very eyes. Rajin exited the shuttle to give some fire support to Nov. The two Alliance solider that Sidda was with didn’t have the same reaction time as Nov and both were hit with enemy fire. When they went down Sidda cursed, something had to be done so she sent a singularity followed by her powerful unstable warp at the bad guys shooting at them hoping the ensuing biotic blast would be enough to convince the Batarians to take cover then sprinted for the two downed men.

“Deliah! Cal!” she shouted as the other side of the Batarian horde exploded into a fireball. Nov grabbed one downed man as Sidda and Rajin grabbed the other finally reaching the somewhat safety of the shuttle now packed with Alliance soldiers and Turians. Tobius was already attending to actively bleeding wounds and Rajin joined in.

“That’s it, Balin, get us the hell out of here!” she barked, she was fuming. Cerrus’ reason better be really fucking good.

“Thank you, Commander.” Travis stated breathing heavy letting his adrenalin get the better of him and extending his hand to her.

Sidda was pissed off but she’d nail Cerrus’ ass to the wall when she got back to the Lante, in the mean time she took the fellow officer’s hands with a firm shake. “Anytime, L.C.”

Sidda’s temper was boiling over; the entire rescue mission was botched because Cerrus refused to follow orders. He caused the Alliance team to get caught in a situation that was hotter than it needed to be. When her shuttle touched down the two seriously wounded Alliance soldiers were taken out by the medical staff and quickly triaged. Sidda stormed off the shuttle and headed over to the second shuttle with Cerrus’ team on it. She held her helmet in her right hand was in burning with anger so much that she was glowing biotic blue. She could hear Cerrus’ voice around the shuttle and she got around it as quickly as she could.

“Cerrus!” she barked and put all force behind right arm hitting him as hard as she could in the side of his face with her helmet. “You son of a bitch!” Cerrus wasn’t expecting the impact and bounced into the side of the shuttle tasting blood in his mouth. The hit dazed him and his men took offense to her attack on their commanding officer. “You almost got all of us killed! As it stands I’ve got two critically wounded men!” she yelled as she shoved Masso away from her. “Back off!” she barked to them.

Cerrus righted himself, with noticeable blood coming out of his mouth. “That’s it human.” He hissed and she dodged a hit coming from him. She didn’t care about a fair fight right now and used her biotic power to pick Cerrus up and throw him across the room on top of some of his men and the shuttle bay deck crew. Her body didn’t stop glowing blue as she stalked toward him. Cerrus groaned and went to stand up; he grimaced and let out an audible groan to reiterate the pain he was in.

“You endangered everyone’s life on this mission because you won’t follow my orders!” she barked at him and he had the presence of mind to stop her attack.

“Hey!” Nov yelled and rushed over with other members of Argo and Centar units to stop this before someone got killed. “Stop it, you two, break it up!”

There was a brawl forming when Victus joined to break up the fight. He grabbed Sidda’s shoulders and pulled her back from Cerrus. “Stand down, both of you!” he barked and got between them pushing Sidda away.

“This son of a bitch almost got us all killed!” she yelled and her temper kept her going. She was used to Cerrus being an asshole to her but he crossed a line simply because he has a grudge against humans. Victus heard that things went sideways but had no idea that a brawl was taking place in the shuttle bay. He’d never seen Sidda so angry and never seen Cerrus looking so busted up.

“That’s it, human, cry to the General because you couldn’t handle it.” Cerrus hissed which furthered how pissed off she was. She tried to get around Victus but he wasn’t going to have this on his ship. This type of insurrection was going to divide his men and he wasn’t going to let that fester. He’d deal with Cerrus in a minute but right not Sidda needed to be contained because her biotic power could tear someone apart.

“I’m gonna fucking tear you apart, you Turian bastard!” she snapped as she tried to get out of Victus’ grip. Her continuous struggling tested his patience and he decided to show a little force.

“Sidda, stop it!” he yelled but she didn’t back off testing him even more. “Stop it!” The Turian in him took over and solved this the way most Turian’s would, he grabbed her shoulders slamming her into the shuttle hull equaling the height gap by holding her up at eye level. “Commander!” he yelled. “Enough! I want you calm! I want you cool! NOW!” he yelled in her face to bring her out of her rage. When she made eye contact with him her blue glow disappeared.

His very loud outburst carried and the entire deck went silent and he gently lowered her back down to the deck. “Rajin, Pelonis,” he began with a growl to his voice. “escort Capt. Cerrus and Cdr. Shepard to the brig.”

Pelonis moved toward Sidda and grabbed her arm but she shoved him off. “I know the goddamn way!” she snapped.

As Cerrus and Sidda were escorted off the deck Victus turned to Nov. “What in the hell happened down there?”

Nov thought a moment about how to answer that. “Permission to speak, Sir?” he asked trying to cover his bases for speaking against a superior.

Victus nodded sharply. “Speak.”

“Cerrus fucked up. I don’t know if he did it on purpose but Cdr. Shepard had the whole operation well in hand.” Nov stated.

Victus’ mandibles flared, he was growing very tired of Cerrus and Sidda’s feud. He sighed and patted Nov arm walking through the sea of people who had been watching the fight now getting back to work.

**

Security had enough sense to put Cerrus and Sidda in different cells. Sidda was fuming, her anger was making her glow blue but it wasn’t as noticeable as before. She was eying Cerrus in the cell next to her, if the opportunity presented itself she’d rip his head off. One side of his face was already starting to discolor and swell. She’d be surprised if nothing was broken or teeth were missing.

Victus was tired of their feuding but they were both in trouble right now. It was unacceptable behavior from both of them. The fact that he loved Sidda didn’t change his opinion right now. Enough was enough. Her little display on the flight deck was the last straw.

Cerrus was sitting down working his now extremely sore jaw. Leaving out the helmet that was used as the weapon it was the force of the hit that rung his bell. That was what it felt like to be hit with 120lbs of force. Sidda was eying him through the barrier and pacing. It was a good thing she was separated from him because he had a feeling that if she was left to her own devices she’d tear him apart one molecule at a time.

Victus entered and eyed them both as he passed; he moved toward their cells and tapped the button on Cerrus’ cell door. “Medical. Now.” He ordered, his tone warranted no arguing as it would probably get him court-martialed. He stood and headed out without looking at Sidda on the way by. Sidda narrowed her eyes and her fierce gaze fell on Victus. “You stay put.” He said pointing a finger at her. “And cool off.” The blue glow returned and confirmed his suspicion; if he let her out she was going to tear Cerrus to pieces.

To her credit she said nothing. She didn’t need to; her aggressive body language said it all.

In the corridor he tapped his comm. “Maridus, I want all the data from both shuttles and Kalvaris and Nov in my office now. I want to know what the hell happened down there.”

**

A few hours later after Victus had spent quite a while in a debriefing with Nov, Kalvaris, and all the data he could get his hands on he sent for both Cerrus and Sidda. Sidda was still cooling her heels in the brig and he had her escorted to his office. She hadn’t needed an escort since her first weeks on the ship. Now she had one because she pissed off the General. The door opened and the two guards even escorted her in.

“Cdr. Shepard for you, General.” The security guard said.

Victus was standing behind his desk with Cerrus already there. “Thank you, Sergeant, dismissed.”

Sidda eyed the guards then her glare turned to Cerrus. “How’s the jaw?” she asked trying to get rise of him, her diplomatic side was dead when it came to Cerrus. She was going to kick his ass no question about that.

“Commander.” Victus warned, nothing more needed to be said as his irritated tone said it all. “Stand there and be civil or you can go back to the Brig and stay there.” He snapped and turned his attention to Cerrus. “Same goes for you too, Captain.”

“Yes, Sir.” Cerrus replied and Sidda scoffed. Victus had heard she was head strong but had never seen just how grumpy she could be.

“Someone tell me what happened down there? Keep in mind I have spoken to Nov and Kalvaris.” He asked very clearly. Victus usually kept his temper cool and collected but they were testing his patience.

“I ordered him to hold a cover position so we could load the 37th without getting our asses shot off then, Jackass, here decided to break off and initiate target practice over the fucking hill.” She stated being less than cordial about what she was saying.

Cerrus rolled his eyes. He was a seasoned officer with a bad attitude but he too was at the end of his rope. “Oh you know what, Commander; I’ve had enough of this. I saved your ass you should be thanking me.”

“For what, not tossing your ass out the airlock the second we got back onboard?” she hissed back and Cerrus turned toward her practically begging for her to try.

Victus had a potential fight brewing before his eyes and if he had to break it up a second time they were both out the airlock. “You know I would love to see you try, Shepard.” He growled and they got to within striking distance of each other.

“Enough!” Victus barked in a tone loud enough to make the squabbling duo before him fall silent abruptly. “You two are officers, act like it.”

Sidda stepped toward him, angry. What Cerrus did was inexcusable in her book. “He disobeyed an order!” she snapped in a raised tone. Victus didn’t move and looked down at her then sent his gaze back to Cerrus who opened his mouth to talk. The look Cerrus received was enough to make him stop talking. “As a result two of those Alliance soldiers were wounded, but every one of us could have been killed.”

“Captain, why did you break position?” he asked quietly after reviewing the data and talking to Kalvaris he had a hunch why but wanted to make sure it wasn’t something else.  
“I saw a tactical option and I took it, Sir. It effectively halted the Batarian advance.” He said quickly.

Victus looked from Cerrus to Sidda then back to Cerrus. “Did you tell Cdr. Shepard?”

Cerrus shook his head but not apologetically. “No, Sir. No time.”

Sidda scoffed. “Bullsh-…” she began and Victus waved his hand indicating one thing. Shut up. Sidda ignored him. “He’s a racist bastard and you know it.” She stated and Victus gave her a glare.

“Commander, shut up.” He scolded and she narrowed her glare but did as he asked. “So you broke position against your standing orders.” He clarified and Cerrus gave a sharp nod. “Captain, I am going to ask you once. Did you disobey the order because you do not respect Cdr. Shepard?”

Cerrus didn’t even hesitate. “No, Sir. Cdr. Shepard’s tactic was sound but she couldn’t see what I saw. I saw a tactical advantage and I took it.”

“And left our asses hanging out in the breeze.” She barked.

“The risk was minimal, Commander.” Cerrus snapped back.

Sidda closed distance looking up at the Turian with a fierce glare. “Tell that to the two men in Medical, wounded because or your ‘minimal’ risk.”

“I said minimal not zero, Commander.” He replied.

Sidda was ready to fight, normally she was the picture of calm but Victus finally saw her angry side. “I’m going to punch you, Asshole.” She stated clearly.

Cerrus smirked. “Then you better make sure I stay down, Commander.”

Victus was now beyond irritated with both of them. The best way to settle this without getting rid of one or the other was to put them in a room and let them fight it out. “Enough!” he barked again pounding his right fist on the desk. “If I have to stay that one more time I will bust you to Lieutenant, Captain and I will kick you off this ship, Commander.” Sidda straightened and swallowed her temper. She found the limit of what she could get away with and decided not to push him further. “Capt. Cerrus, the next time you find a tactical advantage that takes you away from your important position think about what you are exposing.”

Sidda cocked her head, there was no way in hell he would be taking his side. Or so she thought. “Wait. Wait. Wait. You are condoning this?” she demanded and stepped toward his desk.

“Commander, like it or not Cerrus saved your team.” Victus said simply and knew Sidda was going to explode.

“Oh, bullshit!” she blurted. “We were fine. I had two people to go-…” she said and Victus had enough of her.

“Commander, stop. That’s enough.” He said now talking over her insistence that Cerrus should be punished. “Stop. Drop it.” He said trying to get a word in edgewise. “Sidda, Stop!” he barked and she fell silent as Victus snatched up a datapad from the desk. “You see that? That’s a turret, Commander. A mobile turret.”

 _“Turret?”_ Cerrus thought and took a step toward it and looked at the stilled image.

“He may not have seen it but his instincts were spot on.” Victus continued as Cerrus surprised even himself and looked up at the General. “You owe him, Commander, if that turret had gotten a line of sight on you it would have been all over.” Sidda blinked and remained silent, she still wanted to kick Cerrus’ ass from one end of the ship to the other. “You two stay away from each other.” He said stepping around his desk to stand right in front of Cerrus. “And I DO mean it. Dismissed, Captain.” He said and turned his attention to his fuming girlfriend.

“Better luck next time, Shepard.” Cerrus sniped with a condescending tone as he was on his way out the door.

“Captian!” Victus barked, half as a warning and half as a ‘you better be gone by the time I get there’.

She wanted to beat the hell out of Cerrus now for the sheer fun of it, she looked at the stilled image of the Turret that he was lucky to have destroyed. His instincts were good she gave him that but that didn’t make him any less of an asshole.

“Am I gonna have a problem with you?” he asked sensing that she was still pissed off no matter what the explanation for Cerrus’ actions were.

Sidda turned to face him and her facial expression said it all. “Oh yes.” She replied. “That son of a bitch got lucky.” She said and decided to leave before her mouth got her in trouble.

Victus sighed. “Stay away from him, Sidda.” He said after her hoping that her anger didn’t get the better of her judgment.

**

She was still fuming mad but now she was fuming mad because she had overacted thinking that Cerrus was being spiteful. He still probably was but she couldn’t prove it. He needed to have his ass kicked by her, maybe then he’d stop being such an ass. Since she was now allowed out of the brig she headed to Medical to check on the two injured soldiers.

“Hey, Doc.” She greeted finding him hunched over the monitor on his desk. He was a tireless man, one of the hardest working people on the ship. “How is everyone?” she asked.

He looked back and nodded to her. “Commander, everyone should be okay. Two serious but stable no reason to doubt a full recovery.” He said. “I’m surprised I didn’t see you down here sooner.”

Sidda scoffed. “I would have. Spent a few hours in the brig.” She replied and Holum cocked his head a little puzzled now. “Got into a fight with Cerrus on the flight deck, Victus had to break us up.”

Holum nodded and tapped a few buttons on his console. “Oh yeah, I heard about that. I saw Cerrus’ face. He said you hit him with a helmet.” He said and Sidda nodded. “Then tossed him across the deck with biotics.” She nodded again making him snort and shake his head. “Well, these men will be fine, Commander.”

Sidda patted Holum’s shoulder with a nod and headed out of Medical.

Sidda felt like she was in high school again, with that one kid who constantly got on her nerves. She was silently simmering over what Cerrus did and Victus’ dismissal of it. Damn them both. Victus had let them both out of the brig with a warning to stay out of each other’s way. Well, that wasn’t gonna happen.

The training room but a bit busy, lots of crewmembers milling about chatting and Cerrus looking like he was giving defense pointers to a female crew member. Sidda spied the pain in the ass that damn near got her killed along with the rest of the humans. The Alliance team they rescued was still on board as the _Lante_ made its way back to _Arcturus Station_ to drop them off. The more severely injured members were still in Medical but the majority of them were out an about. She saw a few of them talking with Rajin and Nov. Odd that the Turians that treated her with distain were now socialized enough to willingly hang out with humans.

Sidda prided herself in keeping her temper under control but right now control was out the window. She was going to finish what she started on the deck. She released a low level biotic throw at Cerrus’ back. When it hit him he couldn’t help but stagger forward into the female he was helping. The Taetrus native snapped around to see who had pushed him. Seeing Sidda glowing a faint blue caused him to narrow his gaze, he quickly deduced what she had done and turned to face her, skulking toward her like a predator.

“Spirits, you don’t know when to quit, do you?” he hissed.

Sidda stepped up to him; he could see the anger wafting off her. “No more than you. We have unfinished business, asshole.” She hissed back.

Cerrus could hear Victus’ warning to both. _Stay away from each other._ “The General ordered us to stay away from each-…” he began and Sidda cut him off.

“To hell with the fucking General.” She snapped. “You wanna do this? Bring it on you coward.”

Cerrus was glad to oblige and popped her hard in the face with his right fist causing her mouth to bleed on the spot. Now the fight was on, and this one was gonna be a big one.  
Cerrus was the furthest thing from a coward but she knew it was make him fight. “One rule: no biotics.” He said and she quickly wiped the blood from her lip and lowered her stance ready to fight.

“Absolutely.” She replied, at least they were on the same page.

They clashed in extreme physical combat that was a long time in the making. This was uncontrolled all she wanted to do was kick his ass for all the shit he put her through and for disobeying orders. Her anger toward Victus was also fueling this fight. She made a conscious effort to keep her biotics out of this; she wanted to hand Cerrus his ass without the aid of biotics.

They attacked at the same time and met in the middle, Cerrus swung at her with his right fist and she ducked under his blow grabbing his left shoulder pulling him down and kneed him several times in his abdomen. She couldn’t fight physiology. Cerrus was a Turian and therefore stronger than her, he broke her hold and punched her hard enough in the face to send her staggering backward.

She felt like her head was going to come off and shook her head to try and get the stars out of her vision. “Nice hit.” She commented and Cerrus allowed a scoff and leapt toward her. They clashed again in a flurry of punches from Cerrus. Sidda blocked them with almost uncanny perfection. She trapped his right arm and swatted the left one away releasing a very hard punch to the right side of his face, to the discolored and already painful location of the helmet hit.

Cerrus yelped and the pain pissed him off more. His yell sounded more like a roar and it renewed his attack on her.

Sidda was now being drug by her throat and being pounded in the face by repeated punches from Cerrus.

“Cerrus, stop!” Nov shouted and moved to intervene but was stopped when Rajin stepped in his way.

“No, Callus, no.” she said putting a hand on his chest and looking to the duo beating the hell out of each other. “Let them fight it out.”

“Fight it out? Deliah, they are going to kill each other.” He said and returned his full attention to what was happening just in time to see Sidda break Cerrus’ hold and kicked in his right leg dropping him down to one knee. She kept ahold of his right arm and yanked it up hyperextending it causing him to yell.

“Yeah, Commander! Kick his ass!” Nov heard Travis and a few other soldiers shout, he glanced over with a ‘Really?’ expression.

Rajin kept her hands on Nov to make sure he didn’t try to stop this. “I know him; he’s not going to hurt her…much.” Cerrus had only been on board for about 6 years same with Rajin as they both were recruited from Blackwatch, arguably the best Special Ops Unit in the Turian Military.

Cerrus swung high with his left fist hitting Sidda hard enough to send her staggering uncontrollably right into Nov. He caught her with both hands and she used him to help right herself.

“Stop this, Sid.” Nov stated and she shoved back from him returning to Cerrus. He got to his feet, holding his now sore arm. Sidda shook off the pain she was feeling, there were no words spoken as they eyed each other and attacked at the same time. She aimed low with a kick that he easily blocked and she blocked his punches. Cerrus landed a forceful punch to her ribcage and a crack was heard over there fight. Her body flared blue but she forced it to dissipate as he grabbed a handful of her hair using it to toss her across the room.

She landed with a clatter rolling off the mat sucking in a breath feeling terrible pain when she breathed. Sidda had the pleasure of feeling several injuries in her life, concussions, broken arms, legs, cuts, gunshot wounds, hangovers, but they all paled in comparison to a broken rib.

“Sid?” Nov called and moved toward her when she didn’t get up right away, Rajin pulled him back toward her shaking her head.

“Leave it, Callus.” She stated.

“Blackwatch stick together, huh.” He said stabbing at her loyalty to a teammate.

She gave him a glare. “Kiss my ass, Nov.” she hissed in return.

Cerrus stalked over to Sidda and grabbed her as she was getting to her feet. “You think you’re better than us?” Cerrus snapped. “Better than me?!” he barked putting an arm around her neck and holding her against him. His grip was tightening but she had enough to fight him off. She swung her right elbow up and hitting his mandible. Pain shot through her elbow but decking Cerrus in the mandible hurt him but he didn’t let go. When she hit it the second time Cerrus had enough and let her go. Now both sides of his face hurt. Sidda turned and punched him in the face hard enough to hurt her hand and she didn’t let up curving her next hit into the still tender helmet impact site.

Cerrus’ blood boiled in anger and pain. He was tired of her hitting the one tender spot, he had to admire her ability to identify his weakness and exploit it. He went after her with a vengeance and punched her hard across her face to drop her to one knee. This fight was at its end. Sidda spit blood onto the mat as Cerrus felt his blood draining down his mouth.  
“Alright, that’s enough.” Nov said and got in between them.

Cerrus growled and moved toward his ‘prey’. “Tyr, stop.” Rajin said and jumped in front of him.

Nov helped Sidda to her feet and turned to Cerrus. “Yeah, we get it you two hate each other. But let’s call this one a draw.”

Sidda could agree with a draw and Cerrus nodded to Nov’s determination of a draw.

**

For the past six months Sidda had spent her assignment getting her ass kicked by the Turian crew. It had mellowed out some as she earned their respect but all the pain she felt from those fights paled in comparison to what she was feeling right now. Her right elbow was several shades of purple and both sides of her face were colored the same and swollen. She and Cerrus fought long and hard to the point of a draw.

She was sitting on the couch gingerly placing a cold pack up her elbow. Everything hurt. The door chimed and she didn’t even bother to get up. “It’s open.” She said and door opened revealing exactly who she thought it would be. “Perfect.” She muttered not happy to see Victus.

“I told you two to stay away from each other.” Victus stated and got a look at the damage to her body. “Spirits.” He said shocked. “Are you okay?”

“Yep.” She replied but her tone was pained.

“Have you been to Medical?” he asked, the concern in his voice was very touching and Sidda had a hard time remaining pissed off at him. She was still mad at him and that wasn’t going to change.

“Yeah, I’ve been, Holum says I’ll live but I think he’s lying.” She replied with a sharp breath as she adjusted the position of her elbow.

He blinked and certainly didn’t like seeing her like this. “I’ll take you back, make sure Holum takes care of you.” he said and looked at the nasty looking bruise on her elbow.

“I’m fine, no thanks to you.” She hissed and Victus sighed.

He knew this was going to be a big problem. “Sidda, we have been through this so drop it.” He said and she leaned her head back shaking her head. “And then I told the both of you to stay away from each other.”

“Adrien,” she began. “I don’t wanna fight. I’ve just been through the most brutal fight in history.”

“Whose fault is that?” he asked. “Again, I told you two to stay away from each other. I gave you both a specific order which you both disobeyed.”

Sidda sighed and looked up at him, her expression said it all. She was in enough pain and just wanted to leave her temper tantrum be. “Adrien, please…”

He sighed and held out his hands to the side. “Alight, I’m sorry.”

**

Nov and Rajin had taken to offering the humans a friendly face on the ship. Arcturus wasn’t far and by lunch they would be there. As usual the Mess Hall was full and loud. Victus quietly eyed Sidda as she slowly made her way down the hall. The injuries she’d sustained were not lethal but were certainly painful. The worst was the broken rib, the colorful array of bruising made her injures seem worse than they actually were. She was tough, or stupid, whichever you preferred. But her epic fight with Cerrus both on the Flight Deck and in the Training Room spread through the ship. Neither one of them actually won the fight, Nov had broken it up when he couldn’t watch the beating anymore but it seemed that they had reached a mutual respect sometime between punches.

She wasn’t hungry on her way down the corridor and hoped that by the time she got to the Mess Hall she’d want something. So far, not.

“Wow…” Maridus stated getting his first look at her. “Now, that looks like it hurts.”

Sidda allowed a smile until her swollen jaw made her stop. “No more than usual.” She replied. “I found someone on this ship that hits harder than he does.” She said gesturing to Victus to her right.

Maridus scoffed and shook his head. “You know, the fact that you’ve been through enough fights on this ship to accurately make that decision makes me worry about you.”

“Commander.” Travis said approaching her with the mobile members of the team. They all gathered around her and she gave them a quizzical expression. “That was one hell of a show yesterday.”

“Just a disagreement between comrades, Travis.” She replied. “Nothing wrong with showing the Turians just how tough Humans can be.” She added as the rest of the Alliance team had gathered around her. She was ‘famous’ anyway with the Skyllian Blitz and what not but now she got the feeling she was about to add more lore to her reputation.

The Commander chuckled. “Yes, Ma’am.” He said. “Lt. Nov filled me in on your mission, Commander, I can’t think of anyone better to take this detail. It’s an honor to meet you, it really is. I owe you one.”

Sidda extended her hand to him and smiled as he shook it firmly. “The pleasure’s mine, L.C.”

“Who’s like us?” he said starting the Alliance saying they’d all heard through boot camp.

Sidda snapped to a salute as did the Lt. Commander. “Damn few, and they’re all dead.”

Victus, Maridus, and Nov looked at each other. They’d only seen Sidda with Turians, never another human let alone a unit of them. “Not all of them.” Nov stated answering the saying his own way causing them all to chuckle and Sidda looked back at the three Turians who could hang with the best of them.

**

After nursing his own wounds Cerrus retired to the Armory. That’s where he spent a great deal of his time; he was a bit of a gun nut and enjoyed the silence. The most pained thing on him was this jaw, both sides hurt but the side of the initial impact on the flight deck hurt the most. It had swollen and his entire mandible was tinted blue. The humans had departed to Arcturus but he made himself scarce after the explosion times two with Sidda. Victus would just as soon have his head on a plate but since Sidda started it he let it slide.  
He had an entire Phaeston disassembled on the table and was going through his weapon with a fine tooth comb. The door at the far end of the room opened and in walked his nemesis.

Sidda could hear the Turian curse under his breath even though he never said anything. “Captain.” She said and walked toward him.

Cerrus let out a sigh and continued to work. “Commander.”

Sidda could feel his cold tone; it dropped the temperature in the room. She was here to extend an olive branch before Victus killed them both. “How’s the jaw?” she asked trying to create a little small talk.

“What do you want, Commander?” He asked bluntly, not looking up from the project before him.

“Peace offering.” She replied taking on his hostile tone. “I’m on board for another 6 months and I rather not fight you the whole way.”

No matter what she said to him, Cerrus’ view of humans would always color his opinion of her. “You’re already halfway there, Commander, why stop now.”

Sidda blinked to his dismissal and could have torn him apart. “Fine, next time we fight you’re not gonna stand a fucking chance.” She hissed leaning over the counter. “I’m trying to make peace and you can’t help but be a certified asshole.”

She pushed off the table and started to storm off, Cerrus almost allowed her to leave then thought about it for a minute. He heaved a sigh and grumbled. “Commander, wait.” He said dropping the gun parts in his hands and shifting his equally to both feet. “I don’t want to fight you for the next six months either.” He stated and she took up a confrontational stance before him. “I don’t think my jaw could handle it.”

Sidda’s confrontational stance remained, there was never going to be friendship between them, oil and water never mixed no matter what planet they were from.

“Truce.” He said and almost grudgingly extended his hand to her.

Sidda heard the ‘pulling teeth’ tone in his voice but sighed taking his hand with a firm grip. “I’ll try to ignore the fact that you’re saying that through clenched teeth.” She said and shook his hand to seal their very tenuous truce.

“If my teeth are clenched it’s because you almost broke my jaw.” He hissed.

Sidda offered a mock smile then pulled her hand from his. “I’m not sorry.” She replied and walked away from him.

“Commander,” he said making her pause and turn her head to listen to what he had to say. “you fought well today.” That was as close as she was going to get to a compliment from him and with that she headed out of the Armory.

**

Victus set the bottle of Brandy down on the table quietly and looked down at Sidda. She felt a bit better but the problem was that a broken rib hurt with every breath.  
“You want a drink?” he asked and she sucked in a sharp breath as she made the mistake of moving. Rather than verbally answer she just simply nodded. “Question two: are you okay?” he asked looking her over.

“If I could hold my breath for the rest of eternity it would be so much better.” She said and he allowed a chuckle. “Broken ribs are the absolute worse.”

Victus poured her a glass of the Brandy. “Maybe this’ll take the edge off.”

“I made peace with Cerrus.” She stated and he handed her the glass so she didn’t have to get up. “We’ll see how long it lasts."

“Peace with Cerrus.” He said and sat down next to her. “I have no idea what that would sound like…I give it a week before one of you does something that pisses off the other.”

Sidda allowed a chuckle and took a healthy swig of the brandy letting its sweet smoothness dull the pain she was in. She found a comfortable, if precarious, position resting against him and allowed herself to relax, she may have been mad at him for siding with Cerrus but that didn’t mean she didn’t love him.

Under Holum’s orders, Sidda was on light duty until the broken rib healed a bit more. The benefit of being a Special Ops ship was Victus could allow her to take down time without effecting day to day operations. After leaving her to sleep in the next morning he made his way to the training room so he could get a little exercising in. To no surprise he found someone else doing the same thing. Cerrus.

“General.” Cerrus acknowledged as he entered the room but per usual didn’t salute or anything.

“Captain.” He replied. Cerrus’ face took quite a beating from Sidda and it showed. Both sides of his face were bruised but the left side looked the worst. The mandible was severely swollen but surprisingly not broken. There were a few moments of silence as he wrestled with whether or not he wanted to say anything to him. As a commander he preferred to let his men sort out their differences to a point but as a lover he wanted to protect Sidda from any further damage. The male Turian in him won, finally. “I hear you made peace with Cdr. Shepard.”

Cerrus scoffed. “Barely. It won’t last long.” He stated, true as that may have been it was the wrong statement to make. “She doesn’t know when to keep her damn mouth shut so it’ll get her in trouble sooner rather than later.”

Victus made a conscious effort not to knock him out right then and there. “Tyr, I’ve read your file and spoken to you previous CO’s, I know what happened to your father during 314 and I understand why you have a grudge against humans but that was 30 years ago.” He said and Cerrus stopped punching the stationary dummy in front of him.

“Knowing that your father was butchered by know it all newcomers kind of sticks with you, Sir.” Cerrus snarled back but trying to keep it professional as he was now talking to the General.

“And you weren’t there, neither was she so stop taking your anger out on her because let me make this abundantly clear, Tyr, from one Turian to another not a General to a subordinate,” Victus said standing right in front of him inches from his face. “if you touch her again I _will_ kill you.”

Cerrus blinked but got the very distinct impression that Victus was not kidding, his body language was best described as one who was defending his mate. Maybe it was just that fact that she was a human and he didn’t want to risk an incident if she died on board or maybe it was something else. Cerrus found it in his own best interest to not question the obvious threat and agree with it. “Yes, Sir.” He replied.


	10. Burden of Command

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Ten: Burden of Command

 

The War Room served as a briefing site for missions on the _Lante_. She was bigger than most Turian frigates with a higher crew compliment but she was still a bad ass frigate. Victus had assembled Argo in the war room with a job for them.

“Alright, we have been asked by command to check out a joint weigh station in this system. They’ve been having technical problems that they can’t figure out.”

“Why send us?” Nov asked. “Why not send an Engineering crew?”

Victus wasn’t going to hide it. “Because I pissed off Fedorian.” He stated and Nov raised his eye brow plates with a nod. “And he is nothing if not spiteful.”

“So you piss off the brass and we get shit jobs.” Nov stated and Victus cocked his head that pretty much summed it up. Putting his foot down with Fedorian about Sidda seeing and hearing classified data was going to haunt him until the Primarch found a new target to stomp on.

“No, you get shit jobs. They need an engineer.” He stated and Nov plucked the file that Victus was waving at him.

“Terrific.” He replied. “I got an idea, you pissed him off so why don’t you and Maridus take it and let me have Command.”

“Nov, shut up.” Victus said and Nov chuckled.

“Yes, Sir.” He said through a chuckle.

“Shepard is still not cleared for duty, which is why she’s camped in Holum’s office, so this is your op, Lieutenant.” He said and Nov nodded. “The details of the technical problems are in the file. You’ll take a drop shuttle to deal with the issue. Vellerek says there’s a problem with the drive core, nothing major, but we need to be around a giant to fix it so that’s where the _Lante_ will be.”

**

Holum continued his work as Sidda paced in his office. She had been bugging him for a week now but she was still not cleared to resume her duty.

“Come on, Doc, I’m going crazy here.” She said, she was irritated with his ‘far too cautious’ frame of mind. After brushing up on his human physiology he learned the dangers of a broken rib in the location hers was. If it was jostled or damaged further it could puncture a lung or cause more problems, so he decided to air on the side of caution and let the bone healers do their job. Now he had to deal with Sidda’s disagreement. When he said she had the personality of a Krogan he wasn’t kidding. More to point she embraced it.

“You are not cleared for duty yet, Commander, camping in my office won’t help you.” He said and she stopped pacing crossing her arms over her chest.

“I’m fine, Torrin, get me out of here.” She said and the use of his first name made him look up at her.

“It’s Doctor, Commander.” He stated in an annoyed tone. “You are not cleared for duty; I am not going to tell you again.”

Sidda huffed but didn’t let it go. “I have had broken ribs before, this nothing. I’m fine.”

Holum stopped what he was doing and stood. “Bend over.” He said and Sidda blinked. The first thing she thought was something sexual coming from the black faced Turian. “Right now, bend over. Touch your feet.” He ordered bypassing what he knew she was thinking. Sidda complied with his order but couldn’t achieve the goal. She bent to almost a 90* angle but couldn’t touch her toes. Her body betrayed her and she let out a hiss of pain. “That’s why.” He said as she slowly stood up straight now getting his point. “You’re not fine. Now get out of my office. I don’t want to see you back in here unless you have a legitimate problem or I send for you.”

Sidda didn’t want to comply, she hated being sidelined but it wasn’t her call and she had pushed Holum as far as she cared to. Holum sat down with a huff and went back to work, that woman got on his last nerve. He liked her but she irritated the hell out of him.

**

The Council got regular, albeit brief, updates on the exchange program but Sidda liked to send Anderson a personal update on occasion. Since she had been kicked out of Medical she went to her quarters and had Ruvio open a secure link to Anderson.

“Admiral.” She greeted as Anderson’s face appeared on the small screen of the computer.

 _“Commander.”_ He greeted in her same tone then took a moment to look at her. _“Why is it every time I see you, you have a new set of bruises? Everything okay over there?”_ he asked and she chuckled.

“Just a disagreement with a crew member.” She replied. “Nothing to worry about.”

 _“Disagreement over what?”_ he asked, really making conversation. He trained with Turians on Palaven after the First Contact War so he understood what earning their respect entailed.

“I said he was an asshole and he disagreed.” She stated and Anderson chuckled.

 _“And that how the fight started.”_ He stated with a laugh.

She laughed as well. “Yes, Sir, and it was one for the books.” She stated.

 _“I got an update on the 37th, all are well and those who were injured are recovering nicely on Arcturus.”_ He said she nodded with a slight smile. That was good to hear but she trusted Holum when he said they’d all make a full recovery.

“That’s excellent news, Sir.” She said.

**

Since Sidda wasn’t with them Nov prayed for an easy mission for once. She was a little bit of curse. She was still recovering from the beating that Cerrus gave her, it may have just been a broken rib but it was enough to sideline her according to Holum.

“I said it once I’ll say it again, why the hell are we out here?” Nov said out loud to his team. “Victus pissed the Primarch off and we get the shitty calls. What’s wrong with this picture?”

“Well, we’re here now let’s just get it done and over with.” Zek replied.

“At least without Shep odds are this mission will go a lot smoother.” Nov replied.

Rajin snorted in agreement. “That woman is a disaster magnet.”

They were greeted by an Asari and two female Turians. The Asari had a dark bluish purple skin tone with soft pink accents on her upper lip, eyebrows, and temples. Both the Turian females were Rajin’s height with the same olive green colony markings.

Nov recognized the Asari and froze narrowing his gaze almost not believing what he was seeing. “Shala?” he asked shocked and surprised.

The look on her face was the same, shock and surprise. “Callus?”

Nov looked over his shoulder to his team. “Forget what I said about this mission going smooth.”

“Something we should know, Lieutenant?” Tobius asked with an undertone of he already had an idea. Nov was a notorious Asari lover and it wasn’t a stretch to connect the dots.

“Guys, this is Shala Tarvo. My ex…so to speak.” He answered and stepped toward her. “I hear you’re having technical problems.” He said with a smirk.

 

Shala took them all to the control room and began to brief Nov on what was happening. “We’ve been getting power spikes all over the station but can’t trace the source.” Shala stated and Nov found himself looking her up and down. Shala looked exactly the same, the benefit to the Asari longevity. He’d met her not long after he was selected for the _Lante_ , they carried on hot and heavy relationship for a few years. The problem was that they were both married to their jobs; the fireworks between them eventually died down but never fizzled out. Victus’ ship took up the majority of his time and her work with the Asari military had her off everywhere.

“You know if you wanted to see me again you didn’t have to cook all this up. You could’ve just asked.” Nov said and Shala scoffed.

“Same old Callus.” She stated with a smile. “Thinking everyone wants you.”

Nov shrugged. “Everyone does.” He smirked letting his eyes browse up and down for a moment then refocused on the task at hand. “So tell me about these power spikes.”

“At first we thought it was random, just excess power draw from an outdated system.” She said and clicked a few buttons on the main console bringing up a sematic of the power plant. “Then I ran a detailed scan. The core is drawing too much power and its overloading systems and I don’t know why or how to stop it.”

Nov studied the hologram. “Won’t know how to stop it until we figure out what’s causing it, can you show me where the spikes were?” he asked and she nodded tapping a few more keys. Nov knew she had to have seen the same things he saw. She was as good as he was. “These two are the largest spikes, what are these?”

“Venting stations, like discharging a drive core. They’re supposed to channel the excess power away from the station so it doesn’t incinerate it.” She said and Nov thought a moment.

“So why’s your core spiking?” he wondered out loud. “Why is it drawing excess power?”

Shala shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s why I asked for help.”

“Alright, I’ll split my team up and we’ll check the power junctions see if we can find the source.” He said and she moved over to indicate where he should go. Nov caught a whiff of her scent and was momentarily distracted. “You still smell the same.”

“Stop.” She said with a giggle. “Just follow these two here on the port and starboard sides. That’s all the main junctions. We’ve checked them already but…could use another opinion.”

Nov nodded. “Sounds good.” He said and turned his attention to his team waiting by the doors. “Zek, take Tobius and check the port side. Deliah, come with me  
“I’ll be on comms if you get lost.” Shala said Nov nodded heading out with his team.

The station had an older feel to it, instead of bright and shiny it was a shade of tan and brown. It was lit well but due to the power problems the lights in the corridors flickered every now and then. Rajin and Nov headed down the starboard side and hadn’t said word one with each other.

“So, Shala huh.” Rajin said as Nov had a junction box opened and was scanning it with his Omni-tool. He looked over at her for a moment then went back to working.

“Uh huh.” He replied and kept working.

“Serious?” she asked confused about his nonchalant attitude toward it.

Nov was casual about it because to him it wasn’t a big deal. “Couple years.” He said. “Off and on. On then off…bit crazy really.”

“Do you still love her?” she asked and Nov stopped working, looking over to her.

“Are you jealous?” he asked in that smug, cocky, irritating tone of his.

“Answer the question, Callus; I saw the way you looked at her.” She said and Nov had to agree with her.

Nov decided it best to be honest with the special ops solider. It wasn’t incredibly wise to piss her off being as highly trained as she was in both combat and as a combat medic. “No. Not anymore. It ended a while back.”

Rajin took his answer at face value since she really didn’t have a reason not to trust him. “Come on. Let’s go.” She said and headed down the corridor looking for the next junction. Nov looked after her as she passed him and followed her.

“You have nothing to worry about, Deliah, I’m not a cheater.” He said after her. “I may be a flirt, but that’s all.”

“So what happened?” she asked after a few minutes of silence as she thought about whether or not to pursue this line of questioning.

Nov saw the next junction he needed to check and sighed. “Work.” He said and activated his Omni-tool to scan the conduits. “Both sides. Victus kept me busy; the contractor she worked for kept her busy. Just drifted apart, nothing dramatic.”

“On and off for a few years must have gotten pretty serious.” She said and he locked eyes with her for a moment.

“It did.” He said. “Whenever I went on leave I found her, sometime on Thessia, sometimes on Palaven, the Citadel. Wherever she was or I was at that particular moment.” He said and started to remember his time with her then looked away from Rajin and back to his work. “Then it became tougher and tougher to connect until finally we couldn’t anymore. And that was that.”

Rajin looked at his body language and nodded feeling that was enough. “How’s that coming?”

“It’s fine. This one’s good too.” He said and she nodded. “I don’t get it. All these junctions are fine.” Rajin knew how good of an Engineer he was and if he was stumped it wasn’t good. “Zek, how’s it coming on your end?”

“No problems.” Zek replied as she finished up on the last one. “Something doesn’t add up, Lieutenant.”

Nov understood that feeling. “Agreed. Meet me back in the Control Room.”

**

Shala turned as the Control Room door opened revealing Zek and Tobius followed by Nov and Rajin. “How’d it go?” she asked, she had a feeling about what they found since no one commed-in.

“This doesn’t make any damn sense.” The red faced Turian said. “Junctions check out. I found no major defects.”

“Same here.” Zek replied.

“Bring up the data again.” Nov said and Shala did just that. He leaned on the console and studied the information. “Get comfortable, guys, this is gonna take a while.” He said with a sigh and Zek moved next to him to look at the same information he was.

Some long minutes passed as Nov and Zek sifted through the data. Nov looked away as Zek continued to study. “So what are you doing here, Shala?” he asked. “Brilliant woman like yourself, what are you doing on an old station like this?”

Shala shrugged. “I go where my contractor sends me.” She said. “I’m upgrading the system, only been here for a few weeks. I’ve been trying to pin down the anomaly this whole time. I think it’s inside the core itself.” She said and rubbed the back of her neck. “The whole core needs to be replaced.”

Nov allowed a nod satisfied with that answer. “Show me the core.” He said and Shala nodded.

“Follow me.”

“Zek, stick around let me know if you find anything.” Nov said and Zek grunted a response.

Shala lead him down to main engineering to show him the power plant that was on the fritz. Nov stepped into the room and cackled. “Wow. That is old.” He stated.

“It’s old…but it works.” A Volus voice said Nov looked down the ramp to the Volus.

“And yet I have been summoned.” He stated making his way down the ramp to the main engineering console and the apparent chief engineer.

“Tentu Wan this is Lt. Nov…he’s here to help.” Shala stated.

The Volus looked him up and down. “Okay.” He replied. “Exactly what is it…that you hope to fine…that we couldn’t, Lieutenant?”

Nov shrugged. “I have no idea.” He stated. “But with a core as old as this…we-…”

“Could be looking…at a very…serious problem.” Tentu finished. “That is why…I lobbied hard…to get Shala and her team here.” He said and Nov allowed a nod.

“Alright, so let’s see it.” He said and stepped up to the main console.

**

Nov, Shala, and Tentu spent a few hours in engineering trying to come up with something, some reason why the core was malfunctioning but there was nothing out of the ordinary. The core was old and being rather unpredictable with either the draw of power or the output. Both options were bad in different ways. When they came up with nothing Shala and Nov returned to the Control Room more frustrated than they were before.

“This place is gonna drive me to drink.” Nov stated in exasperation as he leaned against the main console that Zek was no longer studying. Apparently, he found nothing either.

“Thessia Red.” Shala stated and Nov snorted.

“Relus ’53.” Nov stated, unlike Victus who favored the smooth Brandy, he preferred the insanely expensive liquor that was akin to a fine human Scotch.

“You know that stuff costs 4000 credits a bottle on a good day.” Shala stated and Nov chuckled.

“But it’s still the best.” He stated.

“Thessia Red is so much better…and cheaper.” She said and Nov shook his head, here they were falling into old habits. Bantering and bickering like they used to.

“Well, I can’t drink that now can I.” he said and Shala chuckled.

Rajin was silent as she watched them interact. Nov may have said she had nothing to worry about but she found herself jealous of them. Nov wasn’t her mate but she did like him.  
The territorial Turian in her had all but claimed Nov, beating the hell out of Shala wasn’t going to help.

Nov’s eyes fell on Rajin, he could read the expression on her face and then looked away turning his attention to Zek. He could see that she was jealous even though she was doing her best to hide it. He also knew that he was going to pay for this later.

A loud bang was heard like a bomb went off in the room with them. Nov jumped, mostly due to the startle factor from whatever blew up, and the rest was the aftershock from the station. A station wide alarm sounded off alerting the inhabitants that something was very wrong. “What in the hell was that?” Nov asked, like anyone in the same room with him would know.

Shala pounced on the nearest console and tapped several buttons to get the answers to the questions they were all wondering about. “Tentu, report.” She asked and there was nothing but static on the line.

“VI, what happened?” Nov asked the stations Virtual Intelligence when Tentu didn’t respond.

 _“Power overload in Junction 3. Main Power overload probable.”_ The VI stated.

Shala cursed. “VI, send the excess to the starboard discharge station.”

_“Unable to comply. Damage primary system prevents such an action, manual bypass required.”_

Nov turned to Zek. “Zek, go.” He ordered but it came out more like a bark.

Zek didn’t hesitate. “I’m on it. Rev, let’s go.”

 _“Warning: Junction 4, overload imminent.”_ The VI announced and now it was Nov’s turn to curse.

“Shit.” He stated. “Zek!

Zek was in a full sprint with Tobius right behind. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I heard it.” He replied and skittered around the corner shielding his face from the active fires that hadn’t been put out yet.

“Sergeant, you need to bypass the control station so we can shunt the overload into the venting station.” Shala said and Zek scanned Junction 4 with his Omni-tool and followed the problem as it was happening. He passed a pressure door and found himself inside the venting station at the maintenance console.

“Alright, I’m on it.” He said and Nov looked to Shala.

“Can we bleed it off somehow?” he asked. “Jump it to the port side?”

Shala shook her head. “No. The divided lines are supposed to channel excess heat and power into the venting stations on the respective sides.”

Zek worked fast at the console trying to avert a disaster. The alarms blaring around him were starting to frustrate the hell out of him but he blocked it out. He had to stop this.

“Come on, Andros.” Tobius stated from behind him.

“Not helping, Rev.” Zek replied quickly. A few more moments passed his persistence paid off finally.

_“Manual bypass successful.”_

“Nov, I got it, I bypassed the junction and the venting stations’ online.” Zek said and then heard a loud noise coming from his left. The pressure door they passed on the way in. “Uh oh.”

Nov and Shala reveled in their success for a fraction of a moment until ‘uh oh’ came across the line. “Uh oh?” Nov asked. “What uh oh?”

Zek looked around for a control and found the red locked icon. “Umm, the pressure door closed…” he said and tapped the red lock. “and it’s locked. Shala, how do I get this open? I’ve got a really bad feeling about this.”

_“Overload detected in Junction 4, beginning venting procedures.”_

Zek couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Judging by the look of the room they were in this place wasn’t supposed to be occupied in this event. “Now I have a really bad feeling about this! Nov!”

This is getting worse. Nov thought to himself. “Shala!”

“No, no, it’s okay. The safety procedures will kick in and read organic material and abort.” She stated and Rajin started to pace.

“Callus, I don’t like this.” Rajin said and Nov could most definitely agree. “Get them out of there.”

_“Emergency venting: on hold. Organic material detected in red zone.”_

Shala and Nov started in on trying to get the pressure door open. “Zek, get the door.” Nov said. “Now’s your chance.”

Zek’s Omni-tool lit up and started to hack the lock. “Come on you antiquated piece of crap.” Zek cursed. Tobius began to pace behind him, he wasn’t an engineer so there was really nothing he could do to help right now. He placed his life in Zek’s hands and would do that any day of the week. They were partners, friends.

Another alarm went off making Nov look up and then down at the main console that lit up like crazy with the latest problem. _“Surge detected in Junction 4. Starboard venting procedure: on hold, organic material detected in red zone. Catastrophic overload in 2 minutes.”_

“Seriously?” Nov replied with an irritated ‘you’ve got to be kidding me’ bark. “Zek, you have got to get out of there now.”

Zek grumbled at Nov’s understatement of the century. “Yes, thank you.” He snapped back as the pressure door became his nemesis. Either it had malfunctioned or it was never meant to be opened once the safety protocols were tripped. He resorted to something he hadn’t used since the academy, Omni-gel, the magic substance that could reduce the heaviest encryption to child’s play. Zek had learned to bypass without it and got to the point where he never needed it. Now was not one of those times. He applied all that he had on hand but still nothing.

“Shala, we have to do something. There has to be a way to divert it to the port side, a backup protocol in case the other side went down.” He said becoming more forceful with what he wanted done. He wasn’t about to lose two men to a damn pressure door.

“VI, initiate any procedure to divert overload to port side.” Shala said, that was a Hail Mary. Since she didn’t know of any she had a feeling the VI would.

_“Unable to comply. Damage to Junction 3 and primary system prevents such action. Starboard emergency venting: recommended.”_

Nov turned to Rajin and Balin. “Get down there. Get that door open I don’t care what you have to do.” Rajin didn’t even acknowledge his order she just ran.

“Hold on, Zek, we’re coming!!” Rajin shouted as she and Balin sprinted down the maze of corridors.

Zek grew frustrated with the super lock on the door and turned his attention to the console he bypassed earlier. If he could channel at least part of the overload to other systems it might be enough. As he began to work on it Nov’s main console beeped drawing his attention to it. He studied it for a second then realized what Zek was trying to do.

“Shala, try and channel the energy to other system blow them out if you have to, it might be enough.” He said, practically and order. “VI, open the starboard venting station pressure door.”

_“Unable to comply. Malfunction detected.”_

Nov dropped his head. “Oh, come on, please.” He grumbled.

After being denied again for the fifth time Zek cursed and slapped the console with both hands. “Callus, I can’t stop it.” Zek said and Nov cursed in the control room. “Omni-gel’s not even working.”

“Hang on, Zek, I’m working on it.” Nov replied through the radio. ‘Hang on’ was not what Zek and Tobius wanted to hear.

“Work fast; it’s getting kinda hot in here.” He replied.

Shala reached her conclusion and locked her hands together above her head. “This isn’t going to work.” She said but noticed that he didn’t even acknowledge that she said anything. “Callus, if that main blows it’s gonna take half the station with it.” Shala said and Nov looked to her sharply. “You have to activate the emergency vent. Hit the override. It’s the only way.”

“That will kill them.” He said. “I’m not gonna sacrifice two of my men.

Shala knew him, better than he remembered. “Callus, two or 75?” she asked and he paused. “Because if that thing goes that’s exactly what’s gonna happen!”

“Zek, try the door again. Come on, Man.” He said desperately trying to save his friends by feverishly working on the console in front of him. “Come on. Come on, please.”

“There are too many safety protocols in place, Callus, no one can stop this.” Shala said and moved over next to him. “Cal.” She said and put a hand on his. He paused and looked at her.

Zek went back to the panel by the door and activated his Omni-tool again to try and hack the sealed door. After a few seconds it spit back a negative. He failed again; the pressure door was beyond his capacity to hack. Nov probably could but that wasn’t an option right now.

“Callus-…” Zek began. “I can override it and I can’t stop it.” He said resigning himself to his fate as he looked at his friend. Tobius had stopped pacing and sighed.

 _“Main power overload in 30 seconds.”_ The station VI stated.

Nov shook his head. “Andros, Rev, I’m sorry.” He said and punched the flashing button next to him.

 _“Emergency venting procedure: in progress.”_ The VI said and Nov lowered his head closing his eyes.

“Cal-…” Shala began squeezed his arm. He jerked away from her sharply.

“Get out of here.” He growled, when she didn’t leave he spun toward her. “Get out of here!!”

Shala was used to his temper, it had been a few years but they were hot and heavy for a few years. “Callus, stop. Don’t lose it now; you did what you had to do. You’re the toughest person I know, you had to do it.” She said and he looked down at her but said nothing.

Balin and Rajin sprinted down the dark corridor just in time to hear the VI announce the venting in progress. “NO!” Rajin shouted pounding on the pressure door hard enough her fist hurt. “DAMN IT!” Inside there was nothing left, when the venting began it incinerated everything in the room. Andros Zek and Rev Tobius included.

**

Nov hadn’t said a word since leaving the station. He was bubbling with anger and everyone could see it. Word on the Lante had spread like wildfire about the loss of two members. They didn’t know how or why and no one asked. It would come out eventually.

Sidda scurried down the corridors as fast as her still aching side would let her. Something went wrong, terribly wrong, and Argo was down two members. As she reached the locker room she found Rajin and Balin outside still in their armor. “Deliah…what happened?” she asked as Rajin stopped her from going into the locker room.

“We lost Zek and Tobius.” She stated and Sidda let out a slight gasp.

This was a simple engineering mission. Show up and help out. How the hell did they lose two members? “How?” she blurted.

“Malfunction. Accident. I’m not really sure.” She replied quietly and she wondered where Nov was. She deduced the he was in the locker room but didn’t know why Rajin was preventing her from entering. “Don’t.” she said. “Victus is in there. Nov’s not taking it well…” she said and trailed off. “it uhh…it was his call.”

The locker room was empty, with the exception of the visibly fuming Nov. He was staring into his open locker but hadn’t removed any of his armor yet. Nothing would make him happier then to understand just what the hell happened. Even he didn’t know. How did things go so wrong so quickly? He pulled the gloved off and placed them in the proper spot in his locker glancing at the one next to him, Zek’s. His anger flared and he slammed his locker closed firing six short but powerful punches from his right fist into the metal denting it badly. The noise echoed through the room as his last punch was harder the previous five. He let out a short groan of pain and balled up his now throbbing fist.

Victus watch the young Lieutenant’s controlled display and waited for it to end. “Lieutenant.” He said quietly causing Nov to look over his right shoulder.

“Sir.” He replied, his voice barely hiding the boiling anger he harbored toward himself.

Victus judged his body language. Nov was akin to a coiled spring or a misfire ready to explode. “What happened?”

Nov opened his locker ignoring the pain in his hand. “I screwed up.” He stated. “I should have gone down there, not him.”

Victus stood quietly. Nov was a solid officer, this had to be bad. “Tell me.”

Nov turned and sat down on the bench. “Catastrophic overload.” He said. “No idea why. The station’s core misbehaved and caused a massive surge. I sent Zek to stop it…and then emergency protocols kicked in, safety protocols kicked in, cancelled each other out.” He said. “The station was about to explode…I uhh, I hit the button that killed them. I had to…the station was going to explode.”

Victus simply listened at first, as he recalled he never sacrificed his own men before. “Sounds like you did what you had to do.” He said and Nov raised his cold expression to lock eyes with him.

“I killed them.” He said. “I should have gone down there not him.”

“And in doing so you would have put Rajin or Zek, Tobius, Balin in the same position you are now.” Victus said. “You’re the leader. You acted and you acted correctly, you sacrificed two to save many.” He said and decided to leave him be. “I would have done the same. I have done the same.”

Nov was silent as Victus left.

**

In the coming hours Victus fielded the barrage of comm traffic from the council and hierarchy. The Turians sent another vessel to aid the tattered station and it was evacuated. Shala came onto the _Lante_ to give Victus a more thorough explanation of what had happened to his ill-fated men.

Nov tore through the Rec Room and found a bottle of Brandy. Not his favorite drink but it would do the trick for what he wanted. He wanted to disappear in a bar somewhere; Chora’s Den, Eternity, Dark Star he didn’t care. He’d never be able to, so the ships Rec Room was it.

He knew what he did was right but it didn’t make him feel much better about the whole thing. He had the bottle to himself and camped in a chair. He was alone in the room until Sidda walked in finally finding the person she had been trying to talk to for hours. Victus had headed her off same as Rajin. Letting Nov calm down was best for them all.

“Cal.” She said and he cocked his head then took another swig. His bottle was a little over half gone by now, his thoughts were clouds but he didn’t care. “Are you okay?”

“Dumb question.” He replied quickly but didn’t pay too much attention to her.

Sidda blinked to his tone, he’d had a rough day but nothing phased him. “Sorry.” She said moving past his obviously harsh attitude. “You want to talk about it?”

Nov wished only to drink in piece. “Do I look like I wanna fucking talk about it?” he snapped setting the glass down hard on the table.

Sidda eyed him and decided to let him be. “Sorry.” She replied. “For what it’s worth…I know how you feel.”

Nov slapped the glass across the room, it shattered and Sidda blinked to his sudden outburst. “Cdr. Shepard, she knows it all.” Nov growled getting to his feet making his way around the table to her. “Survived Elysium, she’s a big hero, gets put on this ship and turns it upside down. All that you’ve been through doesn’t mean shit!” he barked in her face. “In all that time when the hell have you had to sacrifice anyone?” he barked and advanced on her. His posture and threatening manner made her back up until she hit the wall. He got mere inches from her face and his heated words stung. “You’re nothing. I sent two people, my friends, to their deaths! I pushed the button that killed them so unless you’ve had to do the same don’t stand there and tell me you know how I feel!” he yelled loud enough to make her flinch.

“Hey!” Cerrus barked and used one hand to push Nov back from her. “Back off, I know you’re angry but don’t take it out on her.”

“Interesting words coming from you.” Nov hissed and Cerrus straightened. “You’d just as soon beat the hell out of her, why so protective now?”

He paid no attention to his words; he knew what it was like to be in his position. That first time you have to sacrifice one of your own men. In Nov’s case two at once. “You’re pissed off and you’re drunk.” Cerrus replied. “We’ve all lost people. We’ve all ordered people to their deaths. That’s command. You’ve lost men in combat, Callus, we all have this is no different.”

Nov was angry with himself, the rational side of his brain told him he did what was right but the emotional side told him how much he missed his friends. “I pressed a button and it incinerated them!” he snarled back and Cerrus didn’t move.

“And 75 people are alive because you made that hard call.” Cerrus stated. “It’s not what you wanted, it’s not what any of us wanted but there it is the burden of command. It’s okay to be pissed off.” He said and Nov blinked several times.

Hearing this come from Cerrus made Sidda realize there was an actual person underneath Cerrus’ bad attitude. The Taetrus native was more than seasoned in combat serving not only with Victus but with Blackwatch as well.

“Because of what I did, Rev’s children grow up without a father.” Nov said and Cerrus allowed a nod to change his steely expression.

“You can’t let it change you. You did your job and you move on.” He said and Nov looked down at the floor then moved away, toward the table to retrieve the Brandy.

“Not today.” He stated and sat back down in the chair he was occupying. “Get out of here.”

Cerrus glanced back to Sidda, they wanted to stay and help in the different ways but it would be counterproductive given his mood. He was giving Zek and Tobius a sendoff of his own. A private party, however solemn. Cerrus walked out and Sidda followed him out.

“Thanks for the help back there, Cerrus.” She said following him.

Cerrus looked over his shoulder for a second but kept walking. “He was drunk. He needs to accept it and move on like any other commander.”

Sidda scoffed. “From hero to asshole in 2.6 seconds, Cerrus, it’s gotta be a record even for you.”

Cerrus grumbled to her. She got under his skin no matter what the topic. “Is that what you think?” he demanded stopping to look at her. “I didn’t step in to help you I did it to help him. I’ve lost more people than anyone on this ship except Victus. There’s a reason I have a small team, they’re the ones who survived. He lost two men, I understand that and I don’t wish it on anyone but he has to know he can come back from this.”

Sidda looked away from him as Cerrus left her with that. She turned away from him and headed back into the Rec Room. She said nothing and headed over to the cupboard to get two glasses then sat down across from him. She picked up the bottle or at least what was left of it and poured him a glass to replace the one that was shattered across the room and poured herself one. They sat in silence, she eyed him. She’d never seen him so tense, coiled spring was an apt description. His mandibles were clenched so tight she could hear them clicking against his jaw.

She leaned back in the chair breathing a little easier, the rib was healing, the Brandy would dull whatever pain there was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this chapter during a 10 hour binge of The Walking Dead, a show I'm not terribly interested in but it worked well for some background noise. Not like I really wanted to take Nov through the ringer but I got the idea at work and blasted through it on my day off.


	11. Political Timebomb

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Eleven: Political Timebomb

Sidda followed the crowd at chow time. The Turian members set to go on shift had assembled for morning mess. Since her lay off due to the broken rib and overly cautious Holum she and Victus hadn’t really spent much time together sexually…until now. Her left shoulder hurt because of her very playful Turian the night before, her back was sore too but hopefully the day’s proceedings would loosen up the stiffer body parts. 

While in the line to get various items she was trying to work out the soreness in her shoulder. 

“What’s the matter with you?” a voice asked and she turned seeing frick and frack aka Nov and Maridus. Maridus had asked the question and she quietly answered with the truth.

“Things got a little playful last night.” She said loud enough for them to hear.

If Turians could grin like humans Nov’s would be a Cheshire Cat grin. “Good to know the General’s still got it.” Maridus stated and Nov asked a burning question.

“How’s that work anyway?” he asked as they all filled their trays and headed for an open table. 

“Oh, God, Callus, please tell me someone’s told you about the birds and the bees.” She said and Nov cocked his eyes to the obviously human expression.

“The what?” both Maridus and Nov said in unison. 

“Callus, dear, it goes like this: when a mommy Turian and a Daddy Turian love each other, they mate…or have sex however you want to call it.” Nov dropped his head in exasperation; he knew the moment he asked he’d have to endure some kind of smartass reply. He moved his free hand in front of him trying to move her mocking mothering tone along.

“And that’s where baby Turians come from.” Maridus put him earning him and glower from Nov. 

“I know that smart ass.” He stated as they reached their table. “I mean, do all the parts fit?”

Sidda paused looking at him. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” She said as Maridus sat down and Sidda pulled her chair out next to him. 

Nov couldn’t deny it. “I would actually.” He replied and sat down across from Maridus. 

Sidda paused looking at him. “What you want to watch?”

Nov thought a moment making Maridus even look at him. “If it were anyone but the General, yes.” He replied making her chuckle. “Hell, if it were anyone but the General I’d have figured out if the parts all fit first hand.” He muttered causing Sidda to raise her eyebrows. 

“Subtle.” Maridus said simply. “Come on, Callus, if the parts didn’t fit she wouldn’t look like this all the time.” 

Sidda took a swig of water and shrugged. “I don’t know. You Turians have nice long tongues…” she said with a smile. “that works too.” 

Both Nov and Maridus looked up at each other than to Sidda. “Oh, man, you had to go there.” Maridus stated as his mind was plagued with that mental image. Nov couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

**

Turians stepped aside as Sidda passed them in the hall. She’d been summoned by the intercom while working out with Maridus. Even the second in command of the ship didn’t know what was going on but it wasn’t unusual for Victus to summon her to the CIC. Victus’ feelings for her aside she was one of his most dependable and trusted officers. On the CIC she approached Ruvio who pointed her in the direction of the War Room. As she approached the War Room her pace slowed slightly seeing Victus and another, familiar Turian.

“Nihlus.” Sidda greeted with a surprised expression and a smile as she walked toward him.

Nihlus dipped his head with a nod. “Commander.” He stated in an upbeat tone. That was probably the closest anyone got to a Turian smile. “A pleasure to see you again.”

“Likewise.” She said shaking his hand. “What brings you back?”

Nihlus looked from Sidda to Victus and then back to Sidda. “Actually, Commander, I’m here for you.” He stated. “I need your help.”

Sidda raised an eyebrow uncertain of what he needed her for. He was a Spectre, trained to handle anything thrown at him and judging by the last mission preferred to work alone. If he needed a human’s help it had to be human related. “Uhh, sure.” She replied and Victus gestured toward the door to the War Room. 

“Commander, are you familiar with the colony of Terra Nova?” he asked as they stood near the holographic map table. 

Sidda nodded. “Of course. It’s our biggest, oldest, and most successful colony.” She said, she didn’t know specifics since she’d never been to the colony personally. 

“An organization known as Terra Firma has the Council nervous. After a staged protest on the Citadel my investigation turned up some evidence indicating terrorists threats toward the Council. There are no specifics but the Council is concerned.”

“Terra Firma?” Victus questioned, unfamiliar with the organization.

“They’re a pro human group. They feel that humanity should stand alone and not deal with aliens as they can’t be trusted.” Sidda informed. “Their message started benign but they’re full of extremists now.”

“You’re well informed, Commander.” Nihlus stated. 

“The Alliance has had to step in a time or two and curb their protests.” She replied. “What evidence did you find?” she asked.

Nihlus inserted an OSD into the console to his left and the information popped up as holo image on the map table. “This man, Gabriel Lock is linked to several violent protests in the name of Terra Firma. Two on the Citadel in past years centering around Armistice Day, as your people call it. His people blocked a supply ship from the Asari coming to aid a human colony was devastated by an ice storm. My investigation revealed several death threats and terrorist threats toward the Citadel and the Council. Most warning the Citadel Council to stop interfering with Human development and a few more demanding the Alliance cut all ties with the Council.” Nihlus explained and Sidda narrowed her eyes. “Interestingly, Terra Firma denies any of these acts were sanctioned.” 

“So you’re dealing with a rogue cell.” Victus stated and Nihlus nodded in agreement.

“Or they’re lying.” Nihlus added. Both were possible. 

“Why do you need my help?” she asked. “Looks like you have it all under control.”

“Given that it’s a human colony I figured taking a human would be a great benefit.” Nihlus said. “There are no human Spectres and you are the only Human I trust.”

“What’s your mission?” Victus asked.

“Officially? Just talk, further my investigation.” Nihlus replied then paused indicating there was for more too it. “Unofficially? Whatever I deem necessary to eliminate a threat.”

Sidda looked the Turian up and down as she thought the matter through. “I’ll help.” She said then looked to Victus. “With your permission.”

Victus nodded, he trusted Nihlus and knew that Sidda could handle herself. He saw no problem with her going but always wanted to keep her safe. That was generally a problem given her proclivity for getting into trouble. “Do me a favor.” He said and she nodded thinking that she knew what he was going to say.

“I know. ‘Stay out of trouble’.” She said and he snorted.

“That’s not a favor that’s a standing order.” He stated making her snort. “No, take Nov with you.”

Sidda gave him a curious expression. “Nov? Why?”

“Just get him off this ship. Do something; let him blow off some steam.” He said and Nihlus blinked a few times. 

Sidda knew Nov had been having a rough time dealing with the loss of two friends and nodded. “Okay. No problem.”

“What’s the matter with Nov?” Nihlus asked. 

“A couple weeks ago Nov had to sacrifice two of his men to save a station from blowing itself up.” She said quickly. “He’s gotten better but he still doesn’t have his head on straight.”

Nihlus almost protested the idea of taking someone who wasn’t stable on a mission but said nothing. After all it was Nov. A soldier as solid as he was would be a great asset even on his worst day. “We’ll take my ship to Terra Nova. Two hours enough time for you, Commander?” Nihlus asked and Sidda nodded.

**

Sidda found Nov in the armory working with Cerrus to make sure all the weapons were working order. It was a weekly duty that rotated, as she and Maridus had the detail the last time. She could hear talking but as she got closer she realized they were bantering or bickering. 

“I’m an engineer, Tyr; I think I know the interworking’s of a gun.” Nov stated as Cerrus took apart the gun Nov had just been working on. 

“Apparently not.” Cerrus sniped back with a chuckle. 

“It’s a Phaeston, next to the humans Lancer it’s as simplistic as it comes.” Nov stated. 

“And yet…you’re still not thorough enough.” He said and Nov shook his head with a laugh.

Cerrus needed a vacation. “You have got to stop spending so much time in here.” He stated with a laugh. 

“I think you boys both need to get laid.” Sidda stated and Nov chuckled as Cerrus’ jovial attitude dissipated with her presence.

Nov turned to cocking his head. “Are you offering?” he asked in a suggestive tone. 

Cerrus grumbled in disapproval. “That’s disgusting, Callus.” He droned and returned his attention to the weapon he was taking apart. 

Sidda snorted. “Pleasure to see you too, Cerrus.” She said and Cerrus grumbled a response. “Grab your gear, Cal, we gotta go.”

Nov narrowed his eyes. “Where?” 

“With Nihlus on some super-secret, political thriller Spectre mission.” She said and Nov shook his head. 

“Nope.” He stated. “I remember what you and Maridus looked like after his last mission, I’ll pass.” He said and Sidda chuckled.

“You don’t have a choice, Cal,” she stated and slapped his left arm. “shuttle bay, two hours.”

Nov grumbled as she headed out of the armory. “I don’t want to go, Sid.” He called after her.

“Two hours, Cal.” She called back over her shoulder leaving Nov to grumble.

Nihlus’ ship was a small merchant vessel. It had FTL capabilities and weapons and according to Nihlus its previous owner ‘wouldn’t be needing it anymore’. It was small and fast barely big enough to house the three of them comfortably but it got the job done. Sidda, Nov, and Nihlus spent about 3 hours total heading to Terra Nova. 

“So, what happened at the weigh station, Callus?” Nihlus asked as Nov sat back down in the co-pilot seat next to Nihlus. 

Nov looked up from the data pad he was engrossed in and over to Nihlus then he shot a glare back to Sidda. “Thank you, Commander.” He snipped and Sidda rolled her eyes going back to what she was doing. 

Nihlus snorted. “What happened?”

Nov was still convinced it was his fault despite Victus, Cerrus, Rajin, Shala, and Sidda telling him otherwise. “I made a mistake.” He replied and Sidda scoffed.

“Damnit, Cal, it wasn’t your fault.” She said and Nov grumbled and shook his head irritated with everyone coddling him.

“Quiet.” He replied over his shoulder. “If it’s all the same to you, Nihlus, I’d rather not talk about it.”

Nihlus studied Nov who had returned to reading the data pad. He was trying to get a read on the younger Turian but found him a little hard to read. Losing people was tough anyway but pulling the proverbial trigger was worse. “Fair enough.” He said letting it go for now. 

While on approach to the colony its security picked them up. Instead of creating tension right off the bat Nihlus deferred to the human he brought for a reason. He let Sidda do the talking to the flight control. At the mere mention of her name and authorization code Scott’s flight control rolled out the red carpet.

When the ship landed Sidda opened the side door. She was blasted in the face by cold air and snowflakes. The storm that had been raging was dumping a lot of snow on Scott and they landed in the middle of it. It didn’t bother Sidda but she heard Nov groan in disapproval. 

“Ahh!” he grumbled. “It’s snowing.” 

Sidda blinked, for Special Forces his grasp of the obvious was about average. “Thanks for the tip, Genius.” She replied and looked away from him as he gave her a disgruntled glare. This marked the first time she’d heard Nihlus grumble in disapproval also.

“Turians hate the cold. I hate snow.” Nov stated and she sneered to him with a fake sympathetic smile. 

“Suck it up, Buttercup.” She stated and he narrowed his eyes to her. Their bantering was borderline flirting and Nov was pretty sure that if Victus wasn’t in the way he’d have her as his own. 

Sidda headed down the landing pad. They were met by three armed guards. “Cdr. Shepard,” one of them began. “It’s an honor.”

“Soldier, please take us to your superior.” She said squinting with the snow flying around her face. 

The three of them walked single file through the snow. Sidda couldn’t help but chuckle at the two obviously miserable Turians. 

“Tell me clearly,” Nov began. “this was your idea right, Nihlus?” Nihlus was suffering in silence, not much irritated him but this cold just might if he had to stay out in for long. He mumbled a response and Nov glowered to him. “Then allow me to kick your ass later.”

Sidda’s chuckling while trudging through the shin deep snow made them both glower at her. They followed their escort through the snow and finally into a building. Now out of the snow and cold, blowing wind Nihlus and Nov were finally finished glowering at the world in general but Nov remained grumpy at Nihlus for bringing him to this snowy hell.

They were led to a room that was most decidedly a security office and then to a separate office on the far side. “Cdr. Shepard.” A man said swiveling his chair around and stood to face her. “Welcome to Terra Nova, it’s quite an honor.” He said extending his hand to her. “I’m Chief Luthan.”

She nodded and shook his hand. “Thank you.”

“So what brings you and two Turians to Terra Nova?” he asked and she gestured to Nihlus.

“We’re looking for him.” Nihlus said showing Luthan a holo of Lock. “His name is Gabriel Lock.”

Luthan gave it a long look. “What’s this about?” he asked, his dodge of the question at hand raised Nihlus’ bullshit detector. 

“Have you seen him?” Sidda asked again in a stern tone.

Luthan scoffed to her. “Commander, I’m not in the business of letting the Alliance come in here and push me around without knowing why.” He stated and Sidda took a few steps toward him standing inches from his face. 

“Chief, my mission is classified and I am here as a courtesy to you now if you don’t help me I will tear this planet apart then I will be in your grill for the rest of your natural fucking life.” She hissed. “Now I am going to ask you one last time, have you seen him?” Nihlus and Nov were not above beating it out of him but they let Sidda assert her dominance over the Security Chief.

Sidda’s reputation preceded her; the Hero of Elysium didn’t pull punches she never did. “I haven’t seen him in a while.” He relented. “Check the outskirts, there’s a warehouse depot that he and his men are usually seen at. But I haven’t seen him in a while.” 

“Where on the outskirts?” she asked forcing him to give them all he knew. 

“I’ll give you the coordinates but I know who Lock is and his ties to Terra Firma, his cell doesn’t care about collateral damage.” Luthan explained and Sidda felt his worry was genuine. Sidda watched him as he tapped a few keys on the laptop next to him and her Omni-tool lit up with the coordinates of the warehouse. She confirmed the location and turned to Nihlus and Nov with a nod. “Take one of the cars, Commander, it’ll be faster.”

Sidda eyed the Chief, there was something about him that she didn’t trust but she couldn’t be sure that he was on the payroll of Lock or he was just an ass. “Chief,” she began and Nov stopped his motion turning back around since she wasn’t finished. “if we get there and he and his men get the drop on us because someone tipped him off…you better hope that they kill all three of us because if you betray me one of us will come back and kill you.” She stated and pointed to Nihlus. “And his Spectre status gives us the authority to do it with no repercussions.” She stated as Nihlus stood quietly. “Do you understand me?”

The Chief nodded, he couldn’t blame her for the warning but realizing that one or both of those Turians was a Spectre quelled his next comment. He set his jaw to the threat. “Just finish your business and get off my planet, Commander.”

They headed outside to the car and Sidda had to snicker at the two elite Turians diving in the car as fast as they could to get away from the cold and snow. She slid into the driver’s seat and closed the door.

“So…” Nov began leaning forward from the backseat to put his head between the two front seats. “trap?” he inquired.

Sidda scoffed. “Do you have to ask?” she asked.

“Luthan’s been bought.” Nihlus stated. “acting very shady even for a human.”

Nov snorted and Sidda tapped a few button on the car’s control panel. “Funny.” She replied. “Ideas on how we do this without getting killed since he probably already knows we’re coming?”

Nov’s Omni-tool lit up and he tapped a few keys rapidly then touched the control console of the car. “Well, this ought to disable any tracking devices on the car.”

“The floor is open.” She replied and began to pilot the car to the destination waypoint. 

The drive was filled with lengthy discussions on good ideas and suicidal ideas…so far suicidal was winning. It was hard to plan a low profile when the bad guys already knew they were coming. That’s what they were assuming so they at least had a chance to be surprised. 

“How about I go in alone…get a read on him.” She said and Nov’s first thought was ‘hell fucking no’ but Nihlus simply took a moment to think it over. 

“It’s a sanctioned investigation.” Nihlus stated. “You and I will go in. Callus, you’re our backup in case he wants to push my mission from talk to terminate.”

“Ahead of you as usual, Nihlus.” He stated and tapped a few things on his omni-tool. “All I need is a console and I can jam their security measures.” He said and paused suddenly. “I got an idea, guys.”

**

The skycar came to a stop at the designated point Nov told them, the weather hadn’t improved and both the Turians weren’t keen on this planet…at least not anymore.   
“You sure you can do this?” Sidda asked as the Turian shuffled around getting ready to get out of the car once the door was open. 

He paused and gave her his ‘are you kidding’ expression. “Of course I can do this. What kind of question is that?” he replied almost insulted by the insinuation that his Tech skills couldn’t handle bypassing mediocre security.

Nihlus snorted at the pair. They apparently worked well together. “I wasn’t talking about you’re tech skills.” Sidda answered as the door opened and let the cold winter air of Terra Nova in. “It’s cold out there.”

Nov visibly scowled at her. “Yeah, bite me.” He hissed making Nihlus laugh out loud as his fellow Turian exited the car into the snow. 

It wasn’t hard to gain access to the warehouse; Nov’s jam must have worked and rendered the security of the compound practically useless. When they entered it was almost as if they took the guards by surprise, both them had to laugh at the notation that they had entered with no trouble. 

Sidda held her hands out to her side in a non-threatening manner to the guards they had surprised by not attacked. “We want to talk to Lock.” She said as they trained guns on them. “I’m Cdr. Shepard and this is Spectre Kryik.”

“Lose the weapons, Commander.” The guard ordered and Sidda glowed blue. 

“Does it matter?” she asked and the guard found that a moot point.

“Fine.” He stated. “Try anything and you die. Hero or not.” He warned and she glanced back to Nihlus. He was impressed with her clout; they made their way into the warehouse, being escorted by a few zealots for Lock. 

“Why is it everyone knows you?” Nihlus asked realizing that so far everyone knew either her face or name or both.

She looked over at him, he may have found it useful but she found it annoying as hell. “I saved an entire colony nearly single-handedly, Nihlus, the Alliance paraded me around for months…nearly every human in the galaxy knows who I am.” She stated while following the guards onto the warehouse floor. There they found Lock. 

He was tall with black hair that was slicked back with lightly tanned skin and hazel eyes. For a leader of a potential terrorist cell he was actually pretty good looking. “Spectre Kryik,” Lock greeted. “so good to finally meet the you.” He said in a slightly Australian accent, he may have said he was delighted but his tone was far from it.

Those words reminded her of the mess on Nebewa. “Déjà vu, Nihlus?” she muttered.

“What brings and Spectre to a human colony. You have no business or right to be here.” Lock stated pretty much setting the tone for the conversation as hostile. 

“Terra Firma’s been making a lot of noise, Lock.” Sidda stated. “Threats on the Council type noise.”

Lock looked her up and down. “Cdr. Shepard. The Hero of Elysium.” He stated. “Why should I care about the Council? Why should you? You’ve seen first-hand what happens when aliens meddle with humanity. You almost lost your life and we almost lost an entire colony.”

“We didn’t come here to listen to your rhetoric, Lock, this is an official investigation.” Nihlus stated.

“I don’t recognize your authority, Spectre.” Lock snapped back and quickly drew his weapon. As he drew his pistol, Nihlus and Sidda moved for theirs. Nihlus had his shot gun out before Sidda could get to her pistol but it was all for nothing. Before they knew it they were surrounded by Lock’s men all with guns pointed at them. “You think bringing the Hero of Elysium here would change anything?” he demanded. “You think I care about an alien supporter like her? She’s nothing. You walked into a trap my friends.”

Sidda’s body emitted a faint blue glow and her high alert triggered her biotics. “Don’t be stupid, Lock, you know I’m a biotic and you know he’s a Spectre.” They were outnumbered 6 to 2…crappy odds no matter who you were not to mention the men that they hadn’t seen. This was precisely what they had wanted to avoid, walking right into an ambush or walking right into their hands. 

As the weapons fire commenced Sidda put up a mass effect shield to block the majority of the fire coming at them. Her barriers were hit a few times and Nihlus was as well but minimal damage was taken. Sidda let a shockwave into Lock and sent the majority of his men stumbling away; she could hear Nihlus’ shotgun bark a few times as her next trick was a warp. Nihlus activated his Omni-blade and started fending off Locks men as Sidda turned her weapon on Lock. 

Lock moved quickly and grabbed her right wrist disrupting her aim and pointing his gun at her. She lost her gun as he pinched the nerves in her wrist. She let out a yelp but kicked him hard in the chest knocking him back on his ass and causing him to drop his gun. Surprisingly he was back on his feet quickly and ready for hand to hand. Lock was highly trained, that took Sidda by surprise but she fell into old habits. She wasn’t fighting a Turian…she was fighting a human. Whatever his training had been was close to N7 but not quite. She matched his attacks with precise and swift blocks but Lock managed to get a few hits in and bloody her mouth and nose. 

He grabbed her chest piece and tried to throw her across the room but Sidda clung to him. She kicked his left knee causing it to buckle and him drop to one knee. She brought her left elbow down on his right arm and forced him to break his hold with a yelp then grabbed his right arm bending it away from her causing him to yell. He didn’t appreciate being sounding beaten and still had life in him. Using his other leg he swept forward awkwardly but succeeded in knocking her feet from under her.

Sidda hit the ground with a thud and reverberated pain through her body. “Cheap fucking shot.” She groaned under her breath spying her gun that Lock was scrambling for. “Nihlus!” she barked and rolled to her feet quickly. 

The Spectre was embroiled in a fight reminiscent to the last mission he had with her but this was going much better. He tossed his pistol to her and she caught it coming up just in time for a draw against Lock. 

“Down! Now! Put the fucking thing down.” She ordered now pointing the pistol at Lock. “I stopped a Batarian invasion; tell me what you think I can do to you?”

Lock knew that one shot probably wasn’t going to kill her, not unless her Barriers were very weak but he was damn sure going to try. Point blank might kill the Hero of Elysium; he didn’t heed her warning and tightened his grip on the pistol his expression speaking louder than words. 

Two shots rang out and Lock fell abruptly, splattering her face and chest with his blood startling her, she looked up to the upper level seeing Nov. The Phaeston wasn’t generally considered a precision weapon but he put a perfect round into Lock’s head. “What the hell took you so long?” she stated, it was the only thing that came to mind and she saw Nov roll his eyes before turning the Phaeston to help Nihlus. 

“You’re welcome!” Nov retorted and put down the men attacking the Spectre, ending the fight.

Nihlus’ reaction was much the same as Sidda’s. “About time, Callus.” He snapped looking around.

He shook his head with a snort. “Upper level’s clear…” he said. “Spectre and N7, huh, you two have trouble with six people and I just took out ten silently.” He sniped coming down the staircase.

Now it was Sidda’s turn to roll her eyes, if there was anyone else in the area they weren’t showing themselves. “Ten? Really?” she questioned.

“You can go count them if you wish.” He replied from the across the room.

Nihlus broke into a jog to join Sidda and looked down at the body that was Lock. 

“I suppose this is going to complicate your investigation.” Sidda stated as Nov casually strolled up to join the two of them.

Nihlus glanced to Nov, the one responsible, then back down at Lock. “No, not really.” He replied and turned his gaze to Sidda. “It gets simplified somewhat easily; Subject resisted, Subject is now dead.” 

Sidda paused processing that outlook on his work. “Good to be a Spectre.” Nov chimed in and Nihlus shrugged. 

“Mostly it is.” He replied and Sidda scoffed.

“I’m still waiting on a mission from you that doesn’t involve gunfire.” She retorted and Nihlus let out a snort.

“Are you kidding?” Nov asked. “You two are born disaster magnets.” He said and turned his attention to Nihlus. “There’s an office upstairs you might want to look at.”

Sidda was inspecting the head shot on Lock. “Nice shot, Cal.” She stated as he stood next to her towering over her. 

“Not really, I missed with the first shot.” He stated and she looked up at him with narrowed eyes. “What? My hands were cold.” She scoffed rolling her eyes again. “Anyway, I wasn’t about to lose you too.” He muttered. “Come on, Nihlus.”

Nihlus heard his last comment and eyed Sidda who wore the same expression. The two Turians headed up to the room that was no doubt Lock’s office. It was a jackpot of intelligence and since Lock had decided to resist it was the only source of information he was going to get. 

Nihlus looked at the three corpses that had been burnt to a smoldering crisp. Aside from being a hell of an engineer his specialty was a very intense burning inferno that destroyed whatever it touched. “Nice work, Nov.” he commented and Nov simply nodded.

There were a few minutes of silence as Nihlus determined what he was looking at and narrowed his eyes to the encryption on the main console. “Callus, can you get this?” he asked and Nov didn’t even dignify that with a response just simply traded places with him. 

As Nov worked on capturing the data he Nihlus decided to speak up. “You’ve got to let it go, Callus.” He said and Nov cocked his head to him but kept working.

“Let what go?” he asked annoying Nihlus by playing dumb. 

“You lost two men by your order…” he said and knowing how callous this was going to sound decided to be blunt. “Let it go.”

Nov huffed; he was tired of people telling him that. “You say that like it’s that simple.” He grumbled. 

“It is that simple. Just wait until you have to pull the trigger on a friend.” Nihlus lectured and heaved an annoyed sigh, Nov was stubborn as hell. It was commendable that he was assuming the responsibility of what had happened but to a Turian sacrifice was part of the game. “Do you know why you’re here?” Nov tapped a few eyes and looked at him a little confused. “The General ordered us to take you. If you can’t move on from this he will reassign you and that will follow you for the rest of your career. Let it go and move on, Lieutenant.” 

Nov let Nihlus’ words sink in but said nothing. He finished his task of capturing the data as Nihlus hoped his experience would help the young officer come to terms with what happened.


	12. Cupid's Error

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was probably my favorite one to write to date, quite a bit of character development especially with a character I didn't expect anyone to like. Cerrus. Turns out his crabby ass has quite the following. So with regards to Cerrus, he was the first original character I created when starting this up. Yes, that's right, I created him before I created Maridus or Nov. Cerrus is modeled after actor Peter Stebbings mainly for his Tok'Ra character Malek in Stargate SG-1.

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Twelve: Cupid’s Error

 

“We’ve been asked by the Asari to check out a science station that’s been out of contact for three days.” Victus stated as he briefed Sidda, Nov, and Cerrus. 

Nov looked over Sidda’s shoulder at the datapad Victus had given her. “A civilian science station? That’s what we’re doing now?”

“It is a request, Lieutenant.” Victus stated as Sidda passed the pad to Cerrus.

“So they asked for a Black Ops team?” Sidda questioned and Victus’ annoyance became apparent.

“As I said, it is a request, may I continue?” he said, his tone reflecting his souring mood.

“Sorry, Sir.” Nov said, parroted by Sidda.

“According to the information sent, the station was set up on a garden world about six months ago to monitor fauna and flora for potential colonization. They had a daily check in but have missed the last three.”

“Daily check in for a monitoring station?” Cerrus questioned. That was the first thing he’d said since entering the War Room.

“More of a ‘data-stream’ transmit I do believe.” Victus clarified and Cerrus was satisfied with that answer. “Commander, since Argo is short two members Capt. Cerrus and his team will accompany you.”

That was the last thing she wanted, truce or no truce. “Why?” she blurted before her brain-to-mouth filter caught up. The look she received from Victus was a lot like the one he gave to Cerrus at her first briefing all those months ago when he spoke out of turn. “Who the hell said that?” she said in a sheepish, embarrassed tone.

Nov looked down at her and couldn’t resist the opportunity to tease her. “Oh, she’s about yey high, brown hair, goes by-…”

“Shut up, Nov.” she spat and he cackled to her. “Sorry, Sir.” She apologized to Victus who simply watched the display. He typically let Nov be a smart ass. It reminded him of his son.

Sidda’s question didn’t bother him too much. Given her epic battle with Cerrus he actually expected her to question his decision and would be shocked if one of them didn’t say something. “We’ll be there within the hour. Dismissed.” He said and Sidda turned sharply beating Nov and Cerrus out of the room.

“Nice going, Shep.” Nov stated with a smirk and pat on her right shoulder.

Sidda rolled her eyes and huffed. “Oh, Dear God, Cal, I’m going to shoot you.”

“Nah, you wouldn’t do that…” he said with a low chuckle. “you’d miss me too much.” Cerrus shook his head as he followed them both out. He’d gladly shoot both of them right now. “I thought we were collecting squad recruits.” Nov said changing the subject to the one thing he hadn’t really wanted to talk about in weeks. Replacing Zek and Tobius wasn’t at the top of his to do list. 

“Guess we’ve been redirected.” Cerrus stated and Nov was actually okay with that. 

**

Oriso was indeed a beautiful world. As garden worlds go, it had a more mild temperature then the steamy ‘garden’ world of Argo they had visited before. This planet looked like a paradise and a major score for colonization. 

Balin piloted the shuttle through the clear blue skies of Oriso following the navigation beacon of the Outpost. Most of Centar were present with the exception of Pelonis, as a pilot he was not needed but was on call incase another shuttle was required. 

As Balin landed the shuttle in a smoother than glass fashion Cerrus opened the side door and was the first on onto the planet. 

“Wow.” Sidda stated as the mild temperature hit them, the fresh air and soft blowing breeze made her feel like she was on shore leave on Earth.

Nov took in a deep breath through his nose and closed his eyes. “Reminds me of Rylo.” He said as the rest of the team filed out of the shuttle. “Never thought I’d miss home.” He finished. Nov never liked growing up on such a tiny colony full of farmers, now the reality was the more he was away the more he missed it. 

Sidda looked up at him as he stood to her right side. “Farm Boy.” She teased with a giggle and Nov narrowed his expression while she moved forward following Cerrus.

“I’m gonna go ahead and take that as an insult.” He stated not knowing how she meant that.

As beautiful as the planet was there was something not quite right. The lush green grass, trees and planets in full bloom and the bows of the trees swaying in the breeze aside, the question of ‘where was the staff’ was a red flag. 

“Garden of Eden…” Sidda began as she got a gut feeling that something wasn’t right. “Nothing good can come of this.”

Cerrus had the same feeling. “For once Cdr. Shepard and I agree.” He stated and Sidda raised her eyebrows, another hell freezing over moment.

“Will you two relax…”Kalvaris started. “you two see disaster at every corner and wonder why we run into it so much.”

“That’s because with her there is disaster around every corner.” Cerrus remarked and Sidda shot him a quick glare as she prepared a response.

The team collectively rolled their eyes to Cerrus and Sidda squabbling again. “Guys,” Kalvaris began in a slightly elevated tone. “could we?”

Sidda swallowed her response and instead the two locked eyes briefly for a mutual glare before parting ways. The team made their way toward the ‘bunker’, for lack of a better term. They reached the door and Masso paused tapping it. The panel droned and flashed red. “Locked.” The Citadel born Turian stated.

“The Asari were kind enough to give us the access code for the research station.” Nov said and walked up to the security panel and tapped a few keys causing the panel to beep and the door to open. 

“Can’t wait to see Victus explain this to Command when it turns out to be a wild goose chase.” Sidda stated as they headed in single file, Masso first. 

Nov had heard her use that phrase before and knew what it meant. It brought back memories of nearly being dinner for a very large reptile. “Remember our last goose chase?” he asked with a humorous tone.

Sidda snorted as she walked ahead of him and behind Kalvaris. “Ahh yes, the only place in the galaxy were the geese chased us.” She said, and he chuckled while Rajin simply shook her head. Her memory of the event was the same but had a hard time seeing the humor in it. They all laughed about it now but Nov was less than thrilled at the time. 

The facility looked to be in good working order. Power was still on; everything seemed to be in its rightful place. No signs of struggle but no sign of the staff either. It was puzzling but they hadn’t reached the living quarters or the workstations yet. 

“How many people here, again?” Sidda asked as they passed through what looked to be a cargo and storage area. 

“Information said 18.” Cerrus replied. “18 scientists. Botanists, biologists, geologists…pretty much everyone you need to decide if a planet is worth colonizing.”

“Hello?” Sidda called; if they were walking into a hot zone she just as soon fight sooner rather than later. “Anyone here?” if the Turian’s got grumpy about her announcing her presence she didn’t much care.

The door below the stairwell in front of them opened and the Turians fanned out quickly. “Door.” Masso called.

“Don’t shoot.” A dark purple Asari stated holding up both hands in a non-threatening manner. “I’m Dr. Marui Esveni…I’m the leader of this facility.”

“You’re facilities been dark for 3 days, Doc.” Sidda stated looking the Asari up and down. She didn’t look like the graceful ones she was used to seeing. This one looked tired and a little worried; although Sidda had seen nothing to indicate why, but the odd feeling she and Cerrus were having amplified a bit. “Mind filling in the blanks?”

“You were sent by Asari High Command?” Marui asked.

“In a manner of speaking.” She said but the Asari still didn’t answer her question. “What’s going on here, Doctor, you don’t look so good.”

“We need your help.” She replied and looked at Masso. He narrowed his eyes to her; she looked as if she was resisting something. Marui took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut taking her eyes off him. “Please.”

Cerrus and Nov looked at each other than back to the disheveled Asari. “What’s the problem?” Cerrus asked.

**

Marui led the team into the facility and they got their first look at the place. It looked like a typical science station, they passed a bank of labs with various labels on the doors but they still hadn’t seen anyone. The labs had power and were clean but no one was in them. That was damn odd for a science station. 

They were led into a common lab at the center of the facility. There were more labs down the halls and more rooms up the stairs. Still they saw no one but Marui. Something was definitely off. 

“Alright, Doctor, we’re not going any further until you tell us what is going on.” Sidda stated stopping in the large room. 

Marui stopped and turned back toward her. Her focus seemed compromised since Masso stood a bit closer to her now and she eyed him almost nervously before taking a few steps away. Masso again narrowed his eyes at Marui. She was uneasy around them but it was almost as if she didn’t trust herself around him. Cerrus and Nov saw her reaction to Masso standing too close and Nov cocked his head. 

“We’ve…uhhh…we’ve been on this planet for about 6 months…no problems…” she began her voice ragged and shaky. “until now.”

Sidda was studying her demeanor, her body language; she was on the edge about something. “Until now?” Marui began to fidget while she gazed at Masso, a gaze that made him as uncomfortable as hell. Sidda narrowed her eyes at Marui. “Hey, snap out of it.”

Marui moved her gaze to Sidda taking a deep breath. “Yes…sorry…something on this planet has changed us.”

The ‘something’ description made the whole team nervous. “Something?”Kalvaris questioned. “What the hell you mean ‘something’?”

“Sid, please tell me we didn’t walk into a quarantine zone.” Nov said and Sidda had the same thought.

“No.” Marui said shaking her head sharply. “It’s not like that…I think.”

That didn’t make any of them feel better. “You think?” Cerrus chimed in. 

“It’s not a virus…” she said once again finding herself drawn toward Masso. She looked him up and down and started to move toward him. 

“Hey.” Cerrus barked and she snapped out of it again returning to her position away from Masso. 

“I’m sorry.” She replied quickly. “I think it’s the pollen.” She said putting herself back on track.

“Pollen?”Sidda asked and she narrowed her eyes. “What exactly is happening to you, Doctor?”

Marui continued to fidget; she was having a harder time resisting Masso. “In short terms…it amplifies our urge to mate.”

That wasn’t exactly what any of them were thinking. “Beg your pardon?” Sidda stated, her eyebrows raised as her behavior toward Masso began to make sense. 

“You want to mate with Masso.” Rajin stated and looked from Marui to Sidda. “That’s why she keeps looking at him with lusty eyes.” Rajin’s tone was almost teasing and Masso rolled his eyes. 

“Oh, spectacular.”Masso stated with a snort.

Marui took a deep breath and closed her eyes again regaining her composure. “It’s probably better if I show you.”

“No.” Sidda stated, she couldn’t help her mind seeing the mental image of Asari porn. “I don’t think we need to see a bunch of Asari mating.” 

“I do.” Nov commented and Sidda looked over her shoulder toward him with a glower. He also received a burning glare from Rajin.

“Really, Cal?”Sidda stated and he simply shrugged.

“Please.” Marui said. “I promise it’s not like that.”

**

The layout for this bunker was pretty straight forward. All the labs were on one side and huge. Several labs dedicated to various fields to help determine if Oriso was worth colonizing. The other side contained the living areas, mess hall, medical wing, and both sides were connected by the large cargo bay. Sidda and the team followed Marui over to the living quarters. Sidda didn’t understand what was going on and didn’t like the idea that there was something on this planet affecting the way people acted. She needed more intelligence. But if it was virus, bacteria, or pollen, as Marui said, they were already exposed to it. 

“So if this is pollen, what are the odds we’re all exposed to it?” Sidda asked Marui as she walked behind her. 

“In all honesty, high.” She replied. “It’s in the air; I have no idea what plant it came from. I haven’t been able to study it…with…all of us thinking about something else.” She stated and spared a glance toward Masso who had deferred to Sidda, letting her be on point. He’d rather not be the object of a crazy Asari’s affections. “As near as I can tell it messes with the brain chemistry and the sex drive.”

“Wonderful.” Nov droned. “Tyr, if you try to mate with me-…”

“I will shoot myself before that happens, Callus, I assure you.” Cerrus replied and Nov chuckled. 

“Thanks for that image, Nov.” Rajin stated making him laugh.

They were taken to the medical wing and Marui swiped her keycard outside the door. “We’ve been trying to hold it together…but…it has not been easy.” she said and they walked into the Medical Bay. “This is Dr. Akib, Dr. Jian, and Tilsa. Dr. Jian is our physician but she’s having a hard time fighting this along with Akib and Tilsa.”

The three Asari looked pretty much the same as Marui, tired and disheveled but as soon as Nov came into view they flocked to him and surrounded him. It was like watching moths to a flame; they homed in on the one Asari lover in the group. 

“Whoa!” Nov exclaimed now being groped by a bunch of Asari. Nov was the one person in the group that would embrace the sexually charged Asari. “Easy, Ladies.”

Sidda had complete confidence in Nov’s ability to handle the three women who were now all over him. If he needed help she had a whole team of Turians to pull him out if things got to…heated. “So what do you want us to do?” Sidda asked with a half-smile to Nov situation.

“Help us contain this so I can figure out what is happening.” Marui said. “I’m a Botanist and if I can get enough time without worrying about them I can figure this out.”

“Maybe we can get Holum down here…help give her a hand.” Rajin said and Sidda nodded. 

“We could round up the rest.” Kalvaris said. “Do you have holding cells or private quarters?”

Marui was once again eyeing Masso who took the opportunity to just leave the room. As much as he enjoyed attention from females he’d rather not get mixed up in this mess. When Masso was out of sight Kalvaris’ question rang clear. “I’m sorry. Private quarters.”

“Okay, so, we’ll just find everyone, stick them in their quarters and let Dr. Esveni here get her work done.” Kalvaris said and that sounded like a good plan.

“Hey, how you doing there, Casanova?” Sidda asked looking at Nov who looked happier than a pig in shit.

Nov found himself in pure heaven; he didn’t know what to do with the three Asari pawing over him. He had one under each arm and another standing in front who was currently tracing her right index finger down his left mandible. “I am never leaving this planet.” Nov stated.

“Cal, get ahold of yourself…” Sidda stated then realized that was the poorest choice of words anyone could say. “I mean focus.” She corrected as quickly as she could manage as Nov was being nuzzled by a dark blue Asari.

“I tell you what, Commander, you go and round up the rest and I’ll be here with these three…” he stated feeling the one under his right arm ran her right hand down his horn crest.  
“Callus-…”Sidda warned again.

Nov shuddered to the touch of the one tickling his horn crest as she hit all the right buttons. “I promise I’ll be fine.” He said and that really wasn’t the concern at the moment. “If they’re here with me they’re three less for you to round up.”

He was right; the question was did he have the self-control to not take advantage of the Asari who weren’t thinking clearly. “Keep it in your pants, Lieutenant.”

“Give me more credit than that, Sid.” He stated as the one under his left arm giggled to him.

Sidda turned to Marui. “Security office?” she asked and the lead scientist clinging to self-control nodded.

“This way.” She said her voice ragged with exhaustion. 

The security office was pretty much just a few monitors but it also housed the facilities computer mainframe so it was the most secure room on the other side of the cargo bay. It was a decent hike from the medical wing but it would give them an idea exactly where everyone was. 

“Alright, Cerrus and I will keep an eye on things here. Vhel, Rik, go round everyone up. Deliah, why don’t you give Dr. Esveni a hand with her study.”Sidda said and the three nodded.  
“You guys be careful.” Sidda stated and the three of them looked down at her. “Try not to mate with any Asari along the way.”

Kalvaris scoffed. “Commander, my bondmate is an Asari Commando so when I say she’ll kill me oh boy do I mean it.” He said and even got a chuckle out of Cerrus for that one. 

**

Rajin stood in the Botany Lab far away from Marui. She may have been a combat medic for the Lante but she had a background in science. She tested high for math and science and after boot camp and OCS the military helped continue her science training. She wasn’t a botanist but it was highly possible that plant pollen could be the cause of this. 

“How long has this been going on?” Rajin asked as she casually leaned on the far wall. 

Marui had her nose in a microscope doing her best to keep her mind focused. “Three days.” She replied, she seemed better now that Masso wasn’t around but Rajin figured that she’d be a mating target as well since Asari procreation didn’t need a specific gender. 

“You’ve been dark for three days…nobody thought to send a distress call?” Rajin questioned and Marui huffed in irritation, she was losing her focus. 

“We’ve had…other things on our minds.” She replied and looked at Rajin. Marui’s gaze lingered a little too long and Rajin, sighed this was one mission she wished she wasn’t on.

**

This was definitely a first; an outpost of sexually charged Asari that needed to be contained was most definitely a first for both Sidda and amalgam of special ops teams she was with. Sidda was left in the security room with Cerrus, not her first choice of teammates but this was business so it was time to set their differences aside. 

“Can I ask you a question?” she asked and Cerrus looked visibly annoyed already.

“You just did.” He stated flatly. 

Sidda’s expression turned to a scowl. “Fuck you.” She replied and Cerrus grumbled.

Cerrus relented, largely as an attempt to avoid a fight. Victus made it abundantly clear what would happen if he lost his temper. “What’s the question?” he asked now sounding annoyed.

“What did you mean when you said next to Victus you’ve lost more people?” she asked. That question had been nagging at her since he said it but she never asked. She didn’t want to strain the tentative truce between them but the curiosity got the better of her. At some point she was going to piss him off and the truce would be over so she figured there was no time like the present.

“Exactly what it sounded like.” He stated being as vague as possible knowing damn well it was going to annoy the hell out of her. 

Sidda rolled her eyes. “Hey, you brought it up, asshole.” 

Cerrus glowered at her but she did have a point. He did bring it up and now he was regretting it. “What’s to tell?” he replied sounding pretty annoyed with merely chatting with Sidda. “A mission went sideways and people died, are we done with the Q and A?” 

The short answer was no. She was curious no matter how bitchy he was. “What happened?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” He replied quickly with a tone that reflected his annoyance. “Drop it, Commander.”

“Wow…you’re being particularly bitchy today.” She stated and Cerrus resisted the urge to punch her in the mouth. He said nothing to the comment and kept his eyes on the monitors. 

He stood quietly watching the monitors as Masso and Kalvaris tried to round up the science staff. Sidda studied him; Cerrus was average height for Turian and oozed seasoned confidence. Her observation of him began to take on a life of its own. Battle hardened, quiet, and very confident gave him an almost unmatched predatory look. With one look someone could deduce just how dangerous he was. She couldn’t help it, now she was staring wondering how many scars he had in places she couldn’t see. With as battle worn as he was, there had to be at least a few. 

The dominate male of the group was Cerrus. The most seasoned and the alpha personality, she wanted him, which was a damn odd since she’d just as soon sleep with a Batarian then touch him with a ten foot pole. 

As Cerrus was seemingly distracted by the monitors he was looking at he didn’t care much about her, he never did, she was just there; a hindrance more than a help most of the time. She moved closer so she was standing next to him. He spared her a glance as she appeared on his right side, his figure towering over hers. 

He moved away from her and pulled out a chair to sit down. Sidda kept eyeing him and he did his best not to notice. He didn’t know what her issue was but he was used to her glowering at him on a daily basis, but something was different this time. They’d all been exposed to whatever was going on but he didn’t have any idea what it would do to them or her. He sighed and kept his eyes on the monitors.

Sidda wasn’t deterred by the Turian trying to avoid her; she spun the chair around and straddled him kissing him. Cerrus’ reaction was the same as any other mans would be. He was surprised, confused, and disgusted. It was interesting sensation, kissing was a new concept for him, the warm wetness of the lips and tongue was odd but pleasant. He, of all of them, should be exceedingly pissed off right now and cussing up the mother of all storms but he was frozen in place. 

Cerrus took in a sharp breath as Sidda gently traced the fingers of her right hand along his horn crest. His body was betraying him. “What the hell was she doing?” he thought to himself but then didn’t care, what she was doing felt good, caressing his face and horn crest using her fingernails. His brain was in a fog, it’d been a while since he’d had sex but the last thing he wanted was to mate with a damn human. Sidda’s lust to mate with the dominate male wasn’t going away. Shockingly, Cerrus was more receptive to the idea than even he’d anticipated and she moved his head to the side running her tongue down the left side of his neck. 

He squeezed his eyes shut as her warm wet tongue sent shivers down his spine, he felt a pinch on his neck but caused mostly pleasure then something changed…he felt pain, sustained pain. He realized what was happening and shoved her back off him. The fog lifted off his mind as she saw the blood on her lips. “Bitch.” He snapped and punched her hard in the face knocking her off of him. 

Sidda staggered backward and fell on her ass momentarily before scrambling to her feet and running out of the room. Cerrus stood from the chair and looked around; he was as confused as they came. Sidda just tried very hard to mate with him considering their loathsome distain for one another that brought up several red flags for him. He could feel the blood coming from the bite on his neck. She marked him. That human bitch marked him. “Nov,” he said into the comm. “get to the security room. We have a problem.” Whatever was going on at this plant had found its way to Sidda. So far the Turians were unaffected but probably thanks to the dextro-levo difference Sidda was most definitely acting like all the Asari. 

 

Despite what everyone said about Nov he was a gentleman when it was called for. He was letting the three Asari paw over him but never took it any further than that. Mostly he was keeping them contained until Kalvaris had scoped out the places they were going to put everyone. When Cerrus’ call came out he beat feet out of there suspecting that something was bad enough in this rather unique situation to make him call. 

Nov jogged the length of the facility following the indicators to get to the security office. Cerrus could hear someone coming but couldn’t tell who. If it was Sidda he needed to catch her before anything else got out of hand. If she did that to Nov there’d be no stopping either one of them. By the way they acted all they needed was an excuse. 

Cerrus sided up against the wall and waited as whoever it was got closer. He stepped out and raised the butt of his Phaeston making contact with who he hoped was Sidda.  
Nov sprawled backward to the ground. The force of the hit was insane. That had to be a rifle butt. That wasn’t the first time he’d felt that but Spirits that was a hard hit. When he hit the ground his horn crest hit the ground over top of the armor causing a sharp pain to reverberate clear down to his toes so bad he didn’t know what side of his head to cradle.

The yelp he let out let Cerrus know he hit the wrong target. Nov opened his eyes to see who successfully cold cocked him. “Spirits, Tyr!” Nov snapped and got to his feet, the whack to the face didn’t hurt nearly as bad as the jarred horn crest that was still tingling to his toes. “Why would you do that?!”

“Thought you were Cdr. Shepard.” He replied and Nov glared at him.

“Do I look like Cdr. Shepard?” he barked back then thought about that for a moment.

“Sorry.” He said in a halfhearted apology.

“Lousy shot, asshole, you aimed too high and second why were you aiming for Sidda? I thought you two were getting along?”

Cerrus grumbled and went back around the corner back into the security room. “Whatever the hell is going on around here is affecting her too.” He said and Nov followed him. Nov could taste blood in his mouth from the butt end of Cerrus’ Phaeston, but the good news was the tingling in his toes stopped. “She tried to ‘seduce’ me. Mate with me, whatever the hell you want to call it.”

Cerrus’ grumpy tone aside, Nov found it hard to feel sorry for him. “You poor man.” He replied being less than sympathetic to his plight after all he’d kill for a night with the human. Although, given the human’s full time lover, a night with Sidda would probably get him killed. “What happened to your neck?” he asked seeing a bloody almost oval shape on his neck above the armor.

Cerrus gave him a cold glare and Nov put the pieces together before he finished answering. “How do you think I know she’s affected?”

Nov was puzzled for a moment then it hit him, shocked him. “She marked you?” Nov blurted. “You are so dead.” He thought to himself. Victus was going to personally flush him out the airlock. “Oh this is too funny.” He chuckled and earned another fiery glare from Cerrus.

“One more word and I will hit you again.” Cerrus threatened and Nov actually had to think about that one for a moment. Given Cerrus’ mood and what could only be described as a mating mark on the left side of his neck if he hit him again he probably wouldn’t wake up again.

“Did you get a hold of Victus?” he asked, happily changing the subject for now.

Cerrus nodded. “Holum will be down within the hour.” He said. “And before we’re allowed back on the ship we get to go through hours of Decontam.” Cerrus informed in a tone reflecting the sheer annoyance that sitting in the decontamination chamber for hours was going to bring.

“Hopefully they let us have a deck of cards this time.” Nov retorted. “Alright, I’m gonna go find Sid because I at least won’t shoot her. You go see if Rik needs any help or stop in on Dr. Esveni.” Nov said and Cerrus cocked his head. 

“Giving me orders now?” Cerrus asked and Nov shrugged.

“And what were you gonna say?” Nov asked with a smirking tone.

Cerrus cackled. “Same thing, except you go see Dr. Esveni. I’ll take your fan club from medical to Rik and get something for this.” He said gesturing to the open bite on his neck.  
Cerrus had a small problem using Medigel and on most occasions had to go old school and use gauze. 

“Tell those three lovely ladies I said ‘hi’.” Nov stated and Cerrus snorted as they went their separate ways.

**

Nov moved quickly through the Labs and punched the button to open the door to the Botany Lab. “Doc, tell me you have something?” he asked. His tone made Rajin narrow her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Rajin asked.

“Whatever this is Sid’s got it too.” He stated and Rajin stood up straight from her lean on the wall.

Marui looked at him with puzzled disbelief. “What?” she asked. “So soon…that doesn’t make any sense.” She said and tapped a few things on the holo keyboard next to her.

“This whole thing doesn’t make much sense, Doc, care to be more specific?” Nov stated and Marui looked back up at him.

“She’s levo…same as us, this has been going on for three days for us but it’s been less than 2 hours for her.” Marui said and looked between the two of them. “Are you two feeling any affects?” 

Nov looked down at Rajin and she looked up at him. “Umm…I don’t know…Deliah, you feeling the uncontrollable urge to mate with me?”

Rajin scoffed. “No more than usual.” She replied and Nov blinked. He was silent for a second as he cocked his head to the left sharply to her comment. He wasn’t surprised she said it but he was fairly amused.

“What about you, Lieutenant?” Marui asked and he moved his gaze from Rajin and over to Marui.

“I am the wrong person to ask, Doctor,” he stated. “there’s at least four women on this planet I want to mate with but that is not unusual for me.” He informed and Rajin shook her head in agreement with his statement.

“Only four, Cal?” she jabbed.

“I’m trying to cut back.” He tossed over his shoulder.

Marui’s scientific mind was off and running with theories. “Must be a Dextro-Levo difference. Can I get blood samples from you two?”

“Make it quick…I got a human to round up.” Nov stated with a sigh as Marui stuck him in the side of the neck with a pen needle and then did the same with Rajin. “Now, Cerrus was able to make contact with Victus and Holum should be down with help within the hour. In the meantime, if you see Sidda try and snag her…I’m gonna go be proactive and try to get to her before she tries to mate with the wrong Turian.”

**

Nov had searched high and low for Sidda, no one had reported her on the living quarters side and he didn’t see her in the labs…that left the security office and the large cargo bay. Stacks of crates, a few land rovers, and other equipment obstructed a clear view so he had to look the hard way. He found himself a little jealous of Cerrus, she came onto him because he was there with her. If he had left medical with them or not gotten tunnel vision with the three Asari it could have been him. He could have gotten his wish. Cerrus? Cerrus, of all the damn people, got it instead. 

He weaved his way through the stacks and ended up on the far side of the bay where they had first come in, still no sign of her. He moved over to the first land rover and walked around it hoping to find her. The sixth sense he had about being watched kicked in and he spun quickly. There was Sidda, she looked normal but he could smell her. She didn’t smell like she usually did probably since her pheromones were all out of whack or amplified or whatever…he wasn’t a scientist.

“Cal.” She said in a low sexy tone. 

Her saying his name in that tone was almost his undoing. Maybe going to look for her was a bad idea. Rajin would have been a better choice but hindsight was 20/20. “Hi, Sid.” He replied as she moved toward him in what could only be called a saunter. “Yep, this was a bad idea.” He thought to himself as she got inches from his face. He was paralyzed, not by fear or distress but because he was at war with himself. She stood on her tiptoes but was nowhere near the height needed to get to him so she pushed him down into a crate and immediately straddled him. Unlike Cerrus, Nov was far more receptive to this; he placed his hands on the small of her back to make sure she didn’t fall backwards. 

“Uhh, Sid…” he began and swallowed hard. “I don’t think you want to do this.” He said and she kissed each side of his face and doing the same thing that was able to seduce Cerrus.  
She ran her hands down his horn crest then traced a finger down the right side mandible. 

“Why not?” she asked kissed his neck doing things that she knew Victus liked. 

The sensation of her wet tongue on his skin made him shiver, she wasn’t herself but his honor code was starting to break. Herself or not if she continued turning him on he was going to give her what she wanted right thing or not. “Oh, Sid.” He groaned as embraced her tighter with a growl.

“Take me, Callus.” She stated, it sounded more like a beg or plea to have him. 

Nov nearly whined, if only she’d said that when she wasn’t under the influence of whatever was going on. “Oh, please don’t say that, please don’t tempt me.” He said painfully but his own tone betrayed his desire. 

“I know you want me, Cal.” She said softly, her words whispered like honey into his ears. 

He grabbed her tightly with a growl and pulled her close to him. “More than you know.” He said and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. 

Sidda let out a yell as something made her convulse on his lap. She collapsed forward as Nov blinked trying to come down off the peaked arousal and saw Cerrus behind her with an activated Omni-tool. Nov came back to his senses and let her down to the floor gently. “Thank you.” He breathed out as he stood up straight.

“You looked like you were having fun.” Cerrus commented as Nov tried to shut down all the sexual urges he was feeling after Sidda’s extremely effective seduction.

“You’re lucky this armor’s tough to get out of quickly otherwise you’d have walked into an entirely different scene.” Nov stated stepping over Sidda’s unconscious body face down on the ground. “She is gonna be royally pissed when she wakes up, Tyr, you know that right?”

Cerrus scoffed. “That bitch marked me she’ll be lucky to wake up.”

“Neural shock?” he inquired and Cerrus nodded. 

“Yeah, Deliah just had to use it on Dr. Esveni.” He said and still seething about the mark on his neck. “It’s the least that bitch deserves.” He remarked referring to Sidda’s unconscious body.

Nov huffed with a grumble. “Oh, will you give her a break, man; she probably didn’t know what she was doing. Do you really think she’d touch you willingly?” Nov had a point but it didn’t make Cerrus any happier about his new tattoo.

**

Holum’s med bay was full, with all the Asari and Sidda. He had everything in here but a Turian. That is aside from one rather angry captain. Sidda opened her eyes and groaned, the bright lights from the med bay made her pounding headache worse. “Oh, God.” She mumbled and Holum made his way over to her.

“Commander, welcome back.” He said and she started to move around more discovering the headache was getting worse the more she used her brain.

“Oh…what the hell happened?” she asked, the last thing she really remembered clearly was standing in the security office with Cerrus.

“There was a pollen on the planet that messed with your hormone levels and brain chemistry…we flushed it from your system but combine that with the Neural Shock dose from Capt. Cerrus and its gonna take some time for everything to go back into balance.” He said looking at the monitor above her head to see what her vital signs were. 

Holum had lost Sidda at ‘hormone level’; her brain couldn’t take on anything terribly technical right now…hell she didn’t think her brain could manage her own name right now. “What?” 

Holum sighed. “You’re gonna have a headache for a while but you should be fine.”

Her hands went to her temples and she groaned again. “Headache? I’ve had gunshot wounds that hurt less than this.”

“Hey…” a voice greeted as Holum moved away from her to tend his other patients. “look who’s awake.” Maridus said.

Sidda groaned and forced herself to sit up on the edge of the bed. “Barely.”

“I hear things got a little interesting down there.” He said and his tone was masked humor, which made her narrow her eyes. 

She continued to groan and dropped her head into her right hand; the movement didn’t make her head feel any better. “Oh, yeah…I don’t remember anything ‘interesting’.”

Maridus chuckled then paused. “Really? You don’t remember anything?” he asked and she looked up at him, the pained expression on her face almost made him laugh. 

“No.” she said and got the feeling she did something to warrant a story or someone else did. Either way she was sure she wasn’t going to like it judging by how the Asari were acting. “Why?” she asked and his expression changed and he sat down on the bed that was next to hers. “Damar, what happened?”

Maridus sighed. “Okay, short version, the same thing that happened to the Asari happened to you.” He stated and she knew where that was heading.

“Oh, no.” she said hiding her face in both hands. “Tell me I didn’t sleep with an Asari.” She droned and Maridus shook his head but he was hiding something else.

“No. No…no Asari…” he said and eased into the next phase. “but you did try to mate with Callus…” he said and she whimpered in embarrassment while still hiding behind her hands. “and Cerrus.”

“What?!” she barked coming out from behind her hands, her own volume made her head throb but she didn’t know if it was because she moved, shouted, or just learned she tried to mate with the one person she’d really rather kick the crap out of.

“Oh, it gets worse; I suggest if you see Cerrus you make a tactical retreat the other direction.” 

Sidda narrowed her eyes to him and cocked her head. “Why?” she asked, and then found that question a little dumb. “Aside from the fact that he hates me?”

Maridus was having trouble keeping a laugh out of all of this. The idea of her coming onto, and apparently succeeding, the one person on the ship that hated her more than anything else was bordering on hysterical. The only person who didn’t think this was funny was Cerrus. “You…you marked him.” He said knowing that she had enough knowledge of Turian mating practices to know just what that meant and entailed. 

“That’s it…I’m a dead woman.” She thought to herself. “Oh my God.” She droned closing her eyes praying for a rock to crawl under or for someone to strike her head…at this point she didn’t care which. 

“Yeah…I don’t think God’s gonna help you this time, Sid, he’s a little pissed.” Maridus said letting a snort escape. That earned him a glare from Sidda which only made the laughter harder to hide. “Okay, he’s a lot pissed.”

This was getting worse and worse. Just when she thought she had found a middle ground with Cerrus this was going to ensure there would never be peace between them. “And Adrien?”

“I think he understands…probably not happy about it but I don’t think he’s gonna hang you for it.” Maridus replied and Sidda got off the bed. 

“Alright…where’s Cerrus?” she asked ignoring the pain in her head.

Maridus also stood. “I don’t think you want to see him right now.”

Sidda sighed. “If he’s gonna kill me, I’d just as soon have him do it now.” She stated making him chuckle as she held her head. “For crying out loud all this damn technology and no one can cure a fucking headache, Holum!” she barked. “How ‘bout an aspirin?”

**

Victus’ office contained Nov and Cerrus, the two of them had been trying to get the hot tempered Turian to calm down. He was mad, that was nothing new but this time he had a little cause. He had personal reasons to be angry and medical ones but to Victus it didn’t matter. He was going to pull himself together or Victus was going to do it for him. The door opened and Sidda walked in looked from Victus to Nov then to Cerrus.

“You bitch.” Cerrus snarled at the moment he saw Sidda, he had a temper, everyone knew that. The problem was she had violated his personal space. 

“Cerrus-…” she began in an apologetic tone holding out her hand in a placating manner.

Cerrus moved toward her, an act Victus perceived at a threat and moved into Cerrus’ path stopping him. “Captain.” He warned. 

“I’m sorry, Cerrus.” Sidda stated from behind Victus. She wasn’t one to let someone else fight her battles so she moved out from behind him. “I don’t even remember what happened.”

“Sorry? You’re sorry?” he hissed. “I have this filthy fucking mark and all you can say is you’re sorry!” he barked his volume increasing to a shout.

“Captain!” Victus scolded. “That’s enough.”

Sidda couldn’t really express how sorry she was. “Tyr, I’m sorry.” She said and again and Cerrus actually seemed to cool a bit but was by no means placated. 

He didn’t know who he was mad at more, her or himself. “Permission to leave, General?” he asked in a low tone but kept a glare on Sidda.

“Granted.” He said and the three of them watched him leave. 

When he was gone they were all silent until Nov couldn’t hide a snicker anymore and let it out, soon it graduated into a full blown laugh. “Is anyone else having a hard time feeling sorry for him?” he asked through a dying down laugh.

Victus leaned on the desk. “I do. He doesn’t heal well.” He stated and Sidda cocked her head slightly to that comment but didn’t ask what he meant. “Dismissed, Lieutenant.” Nov nodded and complied leaving them alone. “So…” he said with a sigh. “I send you on a simple mission and you try to mate with two of my men.”

Victus’ tone wasn’t hostile, more like sarcasm and even playful. “The pollen made me do it.” She stated, admittedly that came out a bit like the ‘dog ate my homework’, but Victus actually chuckled as she moved toward him.

“Just had to mark one of them didn’t you.” He said. She didn’t know what to make of that comment, the bite may have been trivial to a human, a bit like a hickey or something similar, but to a Turian leaving a mark like that was deeply personal.

“Adrien, are you jealous?” she asked and put her hands on his chest and standing on her tiptoes to nuzzle his neck.

“Yes.” He answered plainly. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t. Sidda dropped from her tiptoes and frowned to him. Her expression demanded a clarification. “I know, I know…the pollen made you do it.” He said with a chuckle offering her some comfort that he wasn’t really angry with her. 

“I could give you one.” She said her tone changing to a sultry one and she did her best to nibble on his neck given the height gap.

He smiled inwardly to that, he wouldn’t mind that at all but if she started something in here it was going to need to be finished. She may not have been in control of herself when she came onto Cerrus and Nov but he couldn’t help but feel the need to show the entire ship that she was his. Period. “Oh…tempting, but… not right now.” He said thought a pained tone, pained enough to make her giggle.

She backed up and let out a sigh playing up the disappointment. “Okay…just as well then…I’m gonna go shower and change and see if I can keep a very angry Turian from killing me.” She said and heard Victus snort.

“Good luck.” He replied as she left his office. 

**

Cerrus was fuming and as usual it was related to Sidda. Over the months she’d been on board his opinion of her went from hate to dislike to a loathsome distain, now it was back to hate. That one act of biting him hard enough to leave a mark pissed him off more than anything else she’d ever done to him. He sat on the medical bed as Holum tended to the very visible bite on the left side of his neck. What pissed him off the most was she actually seduced him. He hated humans and tolerated Sidda because he had been ordered to, or more like threatened. 

“I am not going through my life with everyone thinking I’m bonded to a damn human.” Cerrus snarled to Holum. 

Holum raised his hands in the air and shook his head. “Captain, I’m working on it, relax.”

Cerrus glared at him. “You relax damnit! Humans are the scum of the galaxy, now I’ve got a mark from one of them.”

“Bite me, you Jackass.” She rebuffed, probably not the best thing to say.

“You already did that, Bitch, if I bite you you’re not gonna like it.” He snapped back.

“Dear God, Cerrus, how many different ways of ‘I’m Sorry’ do you want to hear?” Sidda asked trying to save Holum from Cerrus’ wrath.

Cerrus glared at her. “Shut up.” He snapped.

“Captain, the scars will heal but it’s gonna take time.” Holum stated.

Cerrus didn’t want to be patient. He wanted the scars gone. “What am I supposed to do until then?”

“Wear a high collar.” Holum hissed back. The glare from Cerrus could have killed Holum.

“Why can’t you heal his scars?” she inquired.

“Because Capt. Cerrus has an allergy to the bonding agent in medigel, wounds don’t heal seamlessly and he scars easily. Unfortunately, that same bonding agent is used in my topical ointment as well. Now the surgical route is going to take a little longer to make it seamless.” Holum explained. “But they will be healed.”

Sidda blinked to his explanation but only took one thing away from it. “You guys have allergies?” 

Cerrus’ blood boiled. “Get out!” he barked.

Holum had had enough. “How about both of you get out.”

**

With everything that happened down on Oriso, Sidda felt that she needed to apologize to pretty much everyone involved. Cerrus was first but she didn’t expect that apology to go well but she needed to talk to Nov also. Victus she’d apologize to later but until then it was going to be a long day.

Members of the ops team had their own quarters but the general crew had barracks. Nov was in his bunk trying to relax from the interesting past 16 hours. There was a tap on his door but all he did was call out that it was open. 

“Sid.” He said and sat up on his bunk. 

Sidda had never been in his quarters. It was about the size of her dorm at the academy, shoebox size. Big enough for his bunk, a locker, and a desk but that was it. “Hey, I’ve ummm…I’ve apologized to Cerrus…now you.”

Nov got to his feet and shook his head. “Don’t apologize.” He said his figure now towering over her.

Sidda sighed. “Still, Cal, I’m sorry for putting you into whatever position you were in.” she stated and he chuckled.

“On my lap.” He in informed and saw her cheeks turn bright red to match the color of his face paint. “We were both still fully clothed so no harm no foul.”

Nov’s attitude toward this was a weight off her shoulders; she didn’t need things to get awkward between them especially since she didn’t remember a damned thing. It was like a blackout after a night of booze during her academy days. “Only you could be calm about this.”

“It wasn’t you…and if it was and that’s the way you act with him he’s the luckiest bastard I’ve ever met.” Nov continued and she chuckled.

“Thanks, Cal.” She said and gave him a nice smile. He liked her smile, he liked everything about her. Part of him regretting not taking her when he had the chance but then none of it would have been real. He had a reputation of being a playboy but he wasn’t an ass. Taking advantage of women wasn’t his style and Sidda was damn special to him. He gave her a single reassuring nod as she left his quarters and he heaved a sigh. Why did Victus have to act so damned fast?

**

Cerrus buried himself in the armory, his mind racked with the events that happened on Oriso. The memory of Sidda on his lap, touching him, kissing him, and marking him was all that was needed to sour his mood. He didn’t sleep at all so he took up residence in his roost on the Lante. The armory was his domain and he spent the whole night tinkering on various weapons and munitions. There was a bandage over the bite on his neck as Holum started his treatment to make sure it didn’t scar. The mark kicked up deeply personal issues for him that he’d rather have stayed buried. 

The door to the armory opened and Cerrus glanced up seeing Nov walk in. He said nothing to him as he returned to work. Nov eyed him, pausing slightly seeing him there so early. “Did you sleep?”

“I can’t sleep.” He replied and Nov snorted. He didn’t sleep well either but all he could think of Sidda under the influence of that pollen straddling him on that crate and wished he’d taken her when he had the chance, he doubted that Cerrus’ sleeplessness was attributed to that. No doubt Cerrus’ mind was occupied with 1000 ways to kill Sidda.

“How’s the love bite.” He asked and Cerrus glared at him.

“Call it that one more time I’ll blast you out an airlock.” He growled and finished putting the Viper sniper rifle back together. 

“Still bitchy…got it.” Nov stated and Cerrus spared a short glare to him. “You do know it wasn’t her fault.” He stated and Cerrus grumbled. “Honestly, you really think Sidda would touch you willingly in that way? You just happened to be in the same room with her when she lost her damn mind.”

“Don’t pretend to be her defender…you weren’t fighting her off when she was all over you.” He said and now it was Nov’s turn to glare. “But then again…you want her…disgusting as that union sounds. I’m surprised you didn’t take advantage of-…”

“Careful. Don’t you dare question my honor.” Nov warned in a low growl. “I’m not the one she marked.” He hissed. “How did she get that close, hmm, to you the one who hates her the most?” 

Cerrus didn’t answer that as he watched Nov start to leave but then stopped and turned back toward him. “Permission to speak, Captain?” He asked and Cerrus narrowed his eyes to the tone that Nov had used and stood up straight nodding. “What the fuck is your problem?” he snapped. “All I have heard for 7 months is you bitching about her. You don’t like her fine. She’s human, I know what the humans did to you father, and I get it. She knows you don’t like her but don’t ever forget that she saved your ass on Talas, she’s pulled me out of the fire countless times, and she single handedly saved Maridus’ life. Still, that’s not good enough for you because humans killed your father and she threatened to shoot you on our first mission out.” Nov ranted, he was dressing down a superior officer but at this point he didn’t care. He’d reached the end of his rope when it came to Cerrus’ attitude toward Sidda and had to say something.

“Do you have a point, Lieutenant?” Cerrus asked straightening his posture to the junior officer who was giving him a piece of his mind.

“Talk to her or shut the hell up.” He snapped quickly. “And when I mean talk I don’t mean beat her into a bloody damn pulp, I mean talk to her. She’s been through as much as you have. The entire damn ship has accepted her but you. So either talk to her or shut up but I’m done listening to you gripe about someone I respect as much as her.” He lectured and almost forgot to add the proper ending to his little rant. “Sir.” He added and walked out of the armory.

**

After Nov’s extremely blunt lecture Cerrus thought about what he had said. Cerrus had his reasons for being the way he was but very few on the ship knew about those. Rajin and Victus new the whole story and Nov knew a little. So now he was going to do something he never thought he would. He sighed and tapped on the door to Sidda’s quarters. When the door opened Sidda couldn’t hide he evident surprise. 

“Cerrus.” She blurted and blinked, this was the last person she expected to be at her door. 

“Commander.” He greeted straightening his posture to reflect how uncomfortable he was. “May I come in?”

“To do what? Kill me?” she thought but gestured for him to come in. “Uhh…I guess.” She replied as he walked into her quarters and the door closed behind him.

“I wanted to talk to you.” He said and Sidda looked at him with a confused and leery expression. 

“About what?” she asked, confused. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him it was that she didn’t know his intentions; she crossed a line by marking him even though she wasn’t in her right mind. Now she stood with her guard up keeping herself out of his reach. Cerrus could see her precautions around him but he had no intention of hurting her.

His body language screamed how much he really didn’t want to be there. “You asked me about the mission that landed me here. I used to be a member of Blackwatch, best Special Ops unit in the Turian military.”

“Yeah, Rajin used to be a member.” Sidda put in and Cerrus nodded.

“She was under my command.” He said. “Anyway, I lead a classified mission and it didn’t go so well. I tripped a failsafe and things got worse from there.” He said and she noticed his mandibles clenched tighter than ever. “Bottom line, I lost almost my entire team except Rajin and she barely survived.”

Sidda couldn’t imagine Cerrus botching an Op that badly, but then again he was a little stubborn. “What happened?”

Cerrus huffed; he didn’t like talking about this. Rajin and Victus were the only ones who knew the whole story. It was a painful story that he took great care to bury. “I was distracted…cost my team their lives.”

“Distracted by what?” she asked and leaned against the counter as Cerrus huffed in aggravation again glowering at her. “Hey, you came to me.”

She didn’t need to remind him of that, he was irritated just being there but Nov had a point. The repressed anger from his past didn’t involve her and it wasn’t fair to take it out on Sidda no matter how much he didn’t like her. He sighed and turned toward her looking down at the floor the wall anywhere but at her. “I know you weren’t in control when you did this.” He said and gestured to the bandage on the mark on his neck. “The fact that you’re a human and have effectively marked me is only part of it. The day before the classified op my…” he trailed off and huffed a breath pushed the emotion away. “My wife was killed…in action.”

Sidda tried to hide the surprise. Yes, Cerrus would rather shoot her than talk to her but no one mentioned he had been married. “Wife?” So maybe he wasn’t a damn robot.

“Her name was Anara. She was a Cabal.” He said.

“A biotic.” Sidda stated. That was another surprise though she didn’t know why it surprised her. Cerrus never question her biotics, that wasn’t the reason why he didn’t care for her…that much was obvious.

“Very good.” Cerrus replied. 

Sidda put it together. “You were distracted because of her.” She said and Cerrus allowed a nod.

“More than that.” He replied quietly confirming what she was thinking by his tone. 

“You wanted to die.” She said and he nodded reluctantly. 

“And I took my whole team with me.” He said. “The only reason I wasn’t court martialed was because the mission was accomplished.” Cerrus’ story was a surprising olive branch, knowing a little more about his history explained his attitude. It also explained why he was exceedingly pissed off about her accidental mark. “You’re a lot like she was, Commander.” 

She was pretty sure that was a compliment but didn’t cling to it. The next time she ticked him off they would be right back to kicking each other’s ass. “Thank you for telling me…even though I don’t really know why you’re telling me.”

“She was the only woman I loved, the only woman I ever took to my bed, the only scar I don’t regret.” He said and she cocked her head to him. “Marking me…brought back memories I’ve been running from for 6 years. It wasn’t your fault and I know that. I apologize for my behavior, Commander.”

His apology seemed sincere and she nodded to him accepting it. With that Cerrus turned from her and walked out of her quarters.


	13. Territorial Turians, Tryouts, and Drinking Games

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

 

Chapter Thirteen: Territorial Turians, Tryouts, and Drinking Games 

 

After returning the Asari scientists to Thessia the Lante returned to Palaven as they had been on their way to conduct selections for Argo when were diverted. They’d been in orbit of Palaven for about three days now. Cerrus may have made an apology to Sidda but he was by no means happy with her. There was a bandage still on his neck but Holum was making progress on the wound. Nov was his usual self but after his close encounter with Sidda, he was having a bit of a crisis of the heart. He wanted Sidda but he was too honorable to try to steal her away from someone he respected and feared as much as Victus. If Sidda wanted him he was pretty sure he’d have been in her bed by now so he left it alone no matter how much it hurt. 

Since Sidda was a temporary member, or rather leader of Argo, Victus left the selection process in the hands of Nov and Rajin. He gave limited leave to the crew but those were essential to the current task were stuck on the ship. Maridus didn’t escape and neither did Ruvio. 

Centar and Argo were hard at work evaluating 10 qualified members for 2 positions. The evaluation process was a lot like one would expect. Physical, weapon, and combat trials kept both selectors and selectees very busy. While they were all busy weeding out those Nov wasn’t satisfied with, Sidda was enjoying time with Victus who was working off his jealousy from the incidents on Oriso.

Sidda giggled like a little girl as Victus practically slammed her into the wall. He had picked her up onto his hips and was being more aggressive than he had been before. He had said he was jealous of her marking Cerrus and he was proving that now. He scratched the left side of her neck with his teeth but didn’t leave any permanent marks. As much as he really did like her he wasn’t ready to make that leap. He didn’t know if she would be receptive to it and would rather not burn that bridge prematurely. For now he just left hickeys in places no one else could see and Sidda wasn’t complaining. 

The trick for a human having sex with a Turian that didn’t end in too many injuries was to be tough enough to handle it. Turians were stronger than humans and were packing some pretty spectacular claws. It also helps if the Turian has the capacity to be gentle. And lots and lots of practice doesn’t hurt either. After some serious trial and error over the past few months Victus knew how rough he could be without hurting her. Sidda was enjoying every second of this and his mouth ventured south licking and nibbling on her chest. She ran her hands over his carapace and used her nails on his tough skin. He minded his claws but lightly traced them over the delicate flesh on her thighs. He wrapped his arms around her and took her over to the bed. Sidda was still giggling at his playfulness as he laid her down and settled in over her.

“You’re playful, Adrien.” She giggled and traced her right index finger down his left mandible. He responded with a single grunt that sounded a little more like one laugh. She flinched a few times as he found a few ticklish spots on her stomach as he nibbled his way further down. “Oh, God.” She jumped as he tongue found the most sensitive spot on her. This was the second day of sex with him and she was loving every single second of it. 

**

With the ship above Palaven and the majority of the crew on Palaven the ship was a ghost town. Sidda headed to the Rec Room for her daily coffee, if the coffee-like substance Anderson had provided in her supply of rations could be considered coffee.

“How is it you’re the only one on this ship that can call him Adrien?” Sidda asked Ruvio. Ruvio and Sidda hadn’t really hit it off during this mission. Like Cerrus, Ruvio didn’t like humans due to ties with the Relay 314 Incident but she didn’t have the same attitude he did. She had connected the dots with Sidda and Victus’ relationship but kept her mouth shut no matter how much she disagreed with it. 

Ruvio was stirring the hot liquid in the mug that Sidda compared to coffee and shrugged. “I’ve known the General for a long time, Commander.” She said and Sidda took a drink of her ‘instant’ coffee….tasted more like it had been filtered through an old sweaty shirt but without it she’d probably die. 

“God, this stuff sucks.” She muttered as Ruvio sat down and snorted. “So…how did you end up on this ship?”

“Well, I met Adrien on Gellix during one of the uprisings in that penal colony the Alliance put on it.” She said. “We were called to help restore order but that was-…”

“Yeah, I heard about the Gellix prisons.”

“Anyway, that was the first time I’d ever had to deal with your kind. Palaven dispatched two ships to help the Alliance, Lante was one and I was serving on the cruiser the Coriand. That prison was insane, by the time we got down there Victus and his men were embroiled in brutal fight.” She said. “One prisoner got a hold of a weapon and I took him down before he could shoot Adrien in the back of the head.” Sidda nodded, enjoying talking to Ruvio. They hadn’t really talked before and she was glad to hear a new story about Victus’ past. “Been serving on his ship ever since.”

“You two are pretty informal with each other…anything ever between you two?” Sidda asked bluntly and Ruvio looked up at her after taking a big gulp of her drink.

“No…just served with him for a long time.” She said and looked Sidda up and down she was trying to figure out why she was fishing for information. While Ruvio wouldn’t mind having a relationship with Victus she didn’t ask for it or even broach the topic. The thought of Victus with Sidda made her sneer but as usual she kept it to herself. 

Nov rounded the corner into the Lante’s Rec Room and found Sidda chatting with Ruvio. Ruvio was stuck on board so she could maintain the Lante in standby mode. They were BSing about something that he didn’t hear but as he approached Ruvio offered a nod to Nov as she walked by. “Hey.” Nov greeted and Sidda smiled at him.

“Hey, Cal.” She greeted and he joined her as she walked out of the room. “How goes the selection process?”

Nov sighed. “Tiresome…I think even Tyr’s tired of running drills with them.” He stated with a chuckle. “By the way where the hell have you been?”

Sidda’s honest answer to that was ‘off having mad sex with a jealous Turian’ but she went with the less descriptive reply. “Laying low.” She stated. “Staying out of Cerrus’ crosshairs.”  
“Good plan.” He replied. “However…I’d like you there today.”

“How many are you down to?” Sidda asked as she and Nov walked and talked.

“Four.” He replied with a sigh and handed her a datapad. “All are good, all approved by Victus but I like these two.”

“Cal, you’re the real CO of Argo…in a couple months I’ll be gone.” She said pausing and using him to steady herself to make an adjustment to her right boot. “Why do you need me?”

“Because I trust you, Sid, and if any of these names get selected they’re gonna have to work under your command for those few months before you skedaddle.” He said and looked down at her fiddling with her right boot. “You okay down there or do you just like leaning on me?”

Sidda chuckled. “Well you do resemble a wall.”

Nov laughed as she stood up straight and looked at him. “I trust you, Sid…I’d like your opinion.” He said sincerely and looked up at him.

“Sweet talker.” She said and he chuckled. “Alright…let’s see them.”

**

The Training Room was the base of operations for the selection process. In three days Nov and Cerrus whittled the field of ten down to four. Hearing that, Sidda was glad neither one of them ran her academy boot camp. Her DI was a bitch as it was and the attrition rate for her class was 40%...Cerrus and Nov eclipsed that.

Sidda’s observation of those in the room was what she had come to expect. These candidates weren’t rookies; they were seasoned operators within their chosen field like N7 within the Alliance. The idea was to see if they were a good fit for the team already in play. 

They walked in on a spar in process. Cerrus was sparring against the female candidate that Nov had showed her. “That’s Lt. Rekka Desala, Palaven Command Central Intelligence. Made a name for herself by getting the job done and being alarmingly good with intel.”

“A Spy?” she questioned, Sidda figured that the title Central Intelligence meant she was either a desk jockey or a covert operative. The former didn’t seem likely but the ladder seemed to fit. 

Nov shrugged with a probably grunt. “She’s got some classified data in her file so it’s more than likely.” He said as they observed the match going on before them. Cerrus was an artist when it came to hand to hand combat and if the mistakes that Desala was making were evident to them they were plain as day to Cerrus. 

They both saw a mistake from Desala. “Uh oh.” Sidda muttered and Nov agreed as Cerrus kicked low into Desala’s abdomen causing her to double over. She staggered backward and then glowed blue for a second and avoided the next hit from Cerrus by sidestepping quickly and then released a throw into Cerrus knocking him back. Sidda raised her eyebrows. “And she’s a biotic.”

“Vanguard to be more precise.” Nov stated. “In the past three days she’s gone up against Cerrus half a dozen times and has ended it with her biotics each time after Cerrus gets the upper hand.”

Sidda watched as Cerrus picked himself up off the ground; no doubt he was getting irritated with being repeatedly knocked on his ass by the end all panic button that Desala was using. “I thought Biotics were frowned upon in the general military.”

“They are but she’d not general military she’s Palaven Intelligence.” Nov stated. “Victus has realized the enormous tactical advantage of having a biotic onboard but I’m not gonna pick her just because of that.”

Sidda nodded, Nov was right. “And you shouldn’t, she uses her biotics when she gets into a tight spot…” she thought out loud.

Nov looked down at her with a snort. “So do you.” 

Sidda looked up at him with a smirk. “May I?” she asked and Nov extended his right hand out in an ‘after you’ manner. 

“By all means.” He stated. 

If there was one thing she knew how to train it was a biotic to use her head. Sidda had learned the hard way that relying on biotics alone could only get you so far. While it made her a devastating weapon it also made her careless and lazy. Having that kind of power literally at your fingertips makes a biotic overconfident and being overconfident can get you killed. “Nice job.” Sidda stated walking over to them. “You good, Cerrus?” she inquired, it wasn’t the first time the Turian had been clobbered by a throw and wasn’t gonna be the last but it still didn’t feel very good being knocked off his feet by ball of biotic energy. 

“Commander.” Cerrus acknowledged with a tone that was laced with a slight groan. He never liked being hit by biotics, especially throw; it always knocked the wind out of him.

“Who’s the human?” Desala asked as she looked Sidda up and down. Desala was about 5’10”, had blue eyes, with two light blue curved stripes down her mandibles and three down her chin markings over top of a cream grey skin tone. 

“This is Cdr. Shepard, Alliance Navy.” Nov introduced. “She’s here as an observer of sorts. She’s assigned to this ship so here’s a stipulation: if you can’t work with a human, there’s the door.” Nobody moved, but then he didn’t expect them to up and run out of the room. These four had an opportunity to work Special Ops under a legendary CO; if they had a problem with human it would become evident shortly. “All yours, Sid.” 

Sidda turned her attention to Desala. The Turian was studying her, probably trying to decide if she was a threat or not. “That was an impressive throw.” She began. “You’ve got some power, but try fighting without using your biotics.”

Desala straightened to the critique. “I can.” She replied and Sidda gave a low snort. 

“No. From what I saw, you get into a bind and you use biotics to get out of it, which is fine but can you handle the cooldown time?” By Desala’s silence she either didn’t have an answer or didn’t know what she was getting at. “Scenario: you’re in a bunker, very tight quarters, you come face to face with a Krogan and you have no back up and no real cover. You let out a throw or a shockwave…no effect, what do you do next?”

Desala didn’t really like being put on the spot but answered anyway. “Use my shotgun.”

“Logical.” Sidda thought. “That Krogan hits you with a sabotage…all your weapons are glorified door stops…now what? The average power takes 20 to 30 seconds to cooldown, unless you have an insanely good amp or one hell of an upgrade. In that bunker against that Krogan that 30 seconds is gonna feel like a lifetime. I know…I’ve been there.” Desala blinked to the statement, she understood what she was getting at. Sidda turned to Cerrus still sporting the bandage over the bite on his neck. “Captain, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this. Hit me with everything you’ve got.” Cerrus simply cocked his head to the side slightly as Sidda stepped over to the training mat. “Nov, 30 seconds whenever you’re ready.”

Telling Cerrus to ‘hit her with everything he had’ was like Christmas for him. They’d gone head to head before and discovered that fighting with one rule was as brutal as it came. Cerrus may have made amends to a point with her but that didn’t mean he had forgotten what happened in that Security Office. 

Cerrus understood her scenario and praised her on identifying Desala’s weakness to show her how to improve. So he went after Sidda with close brute force. The teams and potential recruits watched as Cerrus pulled no punches, he connected twice after she dodged his initial attack. Aiming for usual weak points on a body didn’t mean much on Turian, evolution on a somewhat inhospitable planet made getting to the neck, back and ribs hard to do. Mandibles and legs were the targets. Turians may have been bigger and faster but they were vulnerable just like anyone else if you know where to hit them. 

Cerrus hit Sidda hard in the jaw dazing her a little and giving him an opening. He grabbed her by the back of the neck pulling her toward him and but down to meet his right knee into her stomach. Sidda hadn’t felt that in a while but considering the source it seemed to be a low blow. So an equally low blow was on order, Sidda reached up and grabbed his horn crest wrenching his head around so his body had to follow until she put him off balance and he crashed to the floor taking Sidda with him. 

Cerrus let out a loud grunt as his body had to follow his head, Nov was worried that he had landed on her but she skittered free of his grip coming up on her left knee ready for his counter attack.

“Time.” Nov said and saw Sidda and Cerrus linger in their fight mode for a moment.

Sidda got to her feet and extended her hand to him but he didn’t take it and got to his feet all by himself. “Thanks for wrenching my neck.” He stated and Sidda scoffed.

“Thanks for teaching me how to breathe again.” She said and put her hands over the place where his knee landed. 

“My pleasure.” He said working his now over stretched neck.

“Impressive, Commander, but do you have a point?” Desala asked.

Sidda did have a point as she stood next to Cerrus who was being eyed by Nov. “Point, Lieutenant, is that he values my opinion…and nobody gets assigned to this team unless they can handle themselves in any situation.” She said and Nov gave her a nod of approval.

“Sid, this is Sgt. Linus Ruvvak formerly of the Demolitions Core. You want something blown up…this is your guy.” Nov introduced. Ruvvak was Cerrus’ height but had a heavier build; he looked like he could pack a hell of a punch. He had tan skin, amber eyes, and blue paint that horizontally striped his horn crest ending with a pattern similar to Maridus’ across his face. 

Ruvvak nodded to her and looked her up and down. “It’s not every day you see a human serving on a Turian ship, Commander, which begs the question.”

“That’s classified, Sergeant.” Cerrus spoke up. “Pending approval on to the team by Gen. Victus.” 

That took the words right out of Nov’s mouth and nodded to Ruvvak. “What he said.”

Sidda turned away from them and put her hand over the tender area from Cerrus’ knee; with her introduction to the candidates completed she didn’t know if she was needed any longer. As she walked away leaving them in the capable hands of Cerrus, Nov trotted after her.

“So, yeah, what the hell?” Nov said with a chuckle. “You spend all this time staying out of Cerrus’ crosshairs and then you throw yourself right in them.”

“I was making a point, Cal.” She said with a laugh. “You’d have taken it easy on me.”

“Don’t be so sure…” he stated and Sidda chuckled. “Next time I’ll show you a dance you’ll never forget.”

Sidda shook her head and allowed a smile to his comment. Nov had a way of turning most everything he said to her into some kind of sexual innuendo. “I’m sure you would.”

**

The ship with a skeleton crew meant that the mess hall wasn’t busy so when Sidda and Nov made their way in to get some lunch. While chatting about the reasons for selecting Desala and Ruvvak.

They sat down at the table wanting Cerrus’ opinion of the two front runners. “Hey, Tyr.” Nov greeted. “Got a minute?”

Cerrus was in the middle of lunch, the food looked like a version of Stroganoff and smelled like it too…that made Sidda’s stomach growl. The first thing she was gonna do when this assignment was over was hit every restaurant in Vancouver she could find. Living off human rations sucked, the best food she’d had on board was the dinner that the Chef made once in a while. “No.” Cerrus said not looking up, he saw Sidda with him and he answer was simple.

Nov snorted and sat down across from him. “Too bad.” He stated and Sidda sat down beside Nov.

“Well, he’s eating…I guess he’s not a robot.” Sidda stated and Nov snorted.

“Oh, no, no…he just looks like he’s eating.” Nov said and Sidda chuckled. “That’s how he fools you.”

Cerrus sighed and looked up at him with a glower. “Do you two want something or are you just here to bother the hell out of me?”

“Opinions. I like Ruvvak and Desala…you two?” Nov asked.

“Ruvvak definitely.” Sidda replied. “Did you see the way he stripped down that Crossfire?”

Nov snorted and Cerrus continued to eat. “Try fighting him, he hits harder than Cerrus and Victus combine.” He said and Cerrus could attest to that. While he spent most of his time working with Desala he sparred against Ruvvak also. The Demolitionist packed a hell of a punch.

“Desala’s my other choice. Just needs a little work on some hand to hand but I like her.” She continued and Cerrus didn’t look up from his food. 

“I agree.” He said and Nov cocked his head looking at him. So far Sidda and Cerrus had agreed on a handful of things but it was always a surprise. “Desala’s covert experience more than makes up for her inexperience at hand to hand.” 

“Spirits, you two agree on something…” he said with a chuckle. “I guess that love bite really helped your relationship. Mr. Shepard…” he teased and Cerrus grumbled giving him a glare. “how goes the wedding plans?” 

Even Sidda glared at him then looked back to Cerrus. “Do you wanna hit him or should I?” Sidda asked looking at Cerrus who scoffed. 

Nov held up his hand in surrender. “Alright, alright.” He said. “I’m still trying to get over the last time you hit me.”

Sidda chuckled. “I think the butt end of the Phaeston had something to do with that.”

Nov had to agree with that but also knew how hard of a hit Cerrus could produce. “That and when my crest hit the ground I thought my head was gonna roll off.”

**

Sidda and Victus found each other in the corridor and headed toward the lift together. “Should I be worried about Cerrus?” he asked and Sidda looked at him with a narrowed expression. 

“About what?” she asked. 

“I heard you two were fighting in the training room.” He said in a tone mixed with a little confusion. 

Sidda was still not getting it but knew that fighting with Cerrus was a subject that really annoyed the hell out of him. She didn’t know of his direct threat to Cerrus to never touch her again but by the jealously she witnessed after the mess on Oriso and the type of sex she’d been having lately he still hadn’t worked out the issues with her trying to mate with Cerrus and Nov.

“Umm, yeah but I started it…I was making a point.” She said and Victus took a second to let that sink in.

“What point is that?” he asked and Sidda shrugged. 

“Combat point to Lt. Desala.” She said and Victus nodded. “I used Cerrus because I knew he’d come at me hard…nothing bad…just two instructors training.”

Victus was nearly impressed with how far she’d come with her relationship to Cerrus but the bite she left on his neck colored his opinion no matter how much he tried to stay objective. He’d been around far too long to be jealous over the rather unique situation that forced the events between Sidda, Cerrus, and Nov. By nature Turians were territorial and he was having a hard time fighting nature.

“Adrien, are you okay?” she asked after an awkward silence between them. 

Victus sighed and covered his irritated jealousy with the calm seasoned General exterior and flat out lied. “I’m fine.” He said and Sidda saw right through that. 

Sidda grabbed his left arm and stopped him. Victus stopped sharply and looked down at her hand then to her. “What is wrong?” she asked and Victus sighed.

“Nothing.” He stated and surveyed his surroundings before bringing his left hand up to her face, there was a faint bruise from where Cerrus punched her but that was the only injury sustained during the whole incident. He knew Cerrus had given her that bruise which didn’t make him any happier. He was fine with telling her a bold faced lie but he got the feeling that she didn’t believe him so he wasn’t going to be able to keep it up much longer. “I just don’t want you hurt.” He stated and traced the tips of his claws down her face. 

That sent tingles up and down her spine and she couldn’t help but smile as he tapped the lift with his other hand and gestured for her to step on before him. She smiled sweetly to him and let herself saunter a little as she walked onto the lift getting a chuckle out of him as he followed her on. 

**

Maridus sat in the Rec Room with a stack of random data pads. Requisitions, personnel files, and mission reports had consumed his life since he was promoted to XO years ago. He had to admit it was better than being out in the trenches running around on some spirit forsaken world doing who knows what for some higher up in Palaven Command but he’d rather be slopping around in the mud on some world then sifting through the stuff Victus didn’t want to do.

“Major.” A voice greeted and he looked up from what he was reading.

“Hey, Cal.” He said as Nov sat down across from him. “Final four huh?”

Nov shrugged, he was right about there being four but he had pretty much made his decision. “Yeah, four but the general consensus is Ruvvak and Desala.”

“Ruvvak’s an excellent choice, Cal, I’ve known Linus for years he’s a hell of a Demolitionists.” He said and Nov nodded. “You sure you want Desala though? Palaven Intel?”

Nov nodded and sighed randomly sifting through the data pads on the table in front of him. “I like her. Cerrus likes her…she’s got some things to work on but Sid likes her too.” 

“You brought Sid in?” he asked, he didn’t know why he was surprised he could see how much Nov liked Sidda. “What am I saying of course you did…”

“And that means what?” he asked pretending to be offended with a chuckle. “Sidda and Cerrus think she needs some help with hand to hand but I think she’s gonna be a great fit.”

Maridus paused from reading his current Datapad and looked up to Nov. “Wait a minute…Sidda and Cerrus agree on something…damn.”

Nov snorted. “I know.” He chuckled. “Just the fact that they agree should be an empire holiday.” He said and braced his right foot on the edge of the table. 

Maridus chuckled and traded the datapad in his hand with the next one. As he was reading the next his expression changed and cocked his head to the side. “Oh…this one’s Si..dda’s…” he said and blinked a few times.

Nov’s eyes narrowed. “What’s up?”

Maridus chuckled and handed him the pad. “Read that.” He said and Nov hesitated before he took it. 

“If it’s Sid’s I don’t wanna read it.” He said respecting her privacy.

“No, seriously, not the whole thing just read that.” He said pointing to the first line of Sidda’s private message that accidently landed in Maridus’ stack of stuff. Nov dropped his foot down to the floor and leaned forward taking it. 

“It’s Sidda’s birthday…” he said reading the first line form a message that was apparently from her mother. 

“It is or is close…” he stated and took the pad back. 

“We should do something for her.” Nov said. “How do you think humans celebrate birthdays?”

Maridus gave him a twisted expression. “How the hell should I know?” he stated. 

“We need to find and throw her some sort of a party.” Nov said. 

**

The next day Nov had given his choices to Victus, he’d approved all the candidates before the process had begun so all Nov needed to do was tell him who he wanted. The more classified aspects of the ship and its operations would then be divulged to the new comers and the biggest one was Sidda. Until now they were all under the impression that she was an observer though why she was on this ship was still unknown. When the edict came down Nov summoned the entire team, Rajin, Balin, and Sidda to tell them the rest of what they needed to know. 

“Okay, by now you’ve been granted all access clearance to the ship and I’m pretty sure you have been wondering about Sidda.” Nov stated while standing in the locker room with his, once again, whole team. “Cdr. Shepard is a part of a yearlong exchange mission set up by Councilor Sparatus, supposed to help smooth relations between Humans and Turians. The reason I wanted her present for the final selection is because for the next 5 months she is the CO of Argo.” He stated and saw Ruvvak raise his eyebrow plates in surprise. “So from now until she departs us you are to follow her orders like you would any other…” he stated. “It’s best to not think of her as a Human…I find its best to think of her as a small, frail, fleshy Turian.” He stated in an obvious playful jab at her.

Sidda silently rolled her eyes to his comment and could hear him smirking at her. “Remind me again, who beat the General at a sparring match?”

Nov cackled. “With a biotic assist.” He stated as a matter of fact. 

“Hey, winning’s winning.” She stated with her own smirk.

“And yet you’ve never beaten me.” He stated confidently but Sidda distinctly remembered differently.

She looked up at him with a furrowed brow. “Did you forget us in route to Palaven…the first time?” she asked. “I distinctly remember wiping the mat with your face, Lieutenant.”

“My head wasn’t in the game…that doesn’t count.” He said and she snorted. 

“Whatever you say, Casanova.” She stated and Rajin shook her head as Balin rolled his eyes. 

Ruvvak looked amused by the bantering as Desala didn’t know what to do with it. This ship was relatively relaxed, no doubt due to the nature of their job. 

“You get used to this.” Balin stated with a chuckle.

Ruvvak was happy about that. “I think I’m gonna like this team.”

**

As much as Victus tried to fight it he couldn’t get past the idea of Sidda being handled in anyway by Cerrus or Nov. Since Cerrus carried a mark from her he was the object of his aggression. The thought of her being touched by Cerrus made his blood boil. He was finding it hard to get past that but he didn’t know why. He was a General, a seasoned and scarred veteran of the 314 Incident and several other campaigns after that. He’d been around the block enough times to know how to handle his aggressive nature. Miral was the only female he ever felt he had to protect and defend. Sidda was not his mate but he was going to defend her as such so long as his feelings dictated that. He had a feeling Sidda wouldn’t approve of the jealousy that was driving him insane but he didn’t care. It was also Turian nature to be as bullheaded as possible.

He made his way through his sleeping ship and down to the training room where he was sure to find the object of his aggression. Sure enough he found Cerrus sparring with the newest officer to the ship. Desala was his pick to join the team and was pleased that Nov saw the same thing he did. He liked to give his unit commanders the freedom to choose their own members within reason. Nov was a fine officer and he knew what he needed on the team. Having another biotic around when Sidda left would not only be useful but it was solidify Victus’ standing as a ‘wild card’ and he liked the sound of that. Anything to further his ongoing feud with Fedorian made his day. 

Cerrus was a fine officer, a bit hard headed and racist but he was the guy you wanted around when things went every which way but right. Part of him knew he’d rather kill Sidda than touch her but it didn’t sate his need to assert his dominance. He watched silently as Cerrus happily instructed Desala on CQB. The man honestly should be an academy instructor but given his history there was no other ship in the fleet who would take him. 

He lost track of how long he watched them work then snapped out of it and decided to do what his brain had been telling him for the past few days. “Captain.” Victus said approaching the two of them and Cerrus looked over at him. 

“General.” He greeted respectfully with a slight bow of his head. Desala was still growing accustom to the procedures on this ship. Victus was a general but people like Maridus, Nov, and Cerrus treated him more like an equal. They knew who was boss and were obviously respectful toward him but rarely did she see a salute toward him. This was observed with Cerrus right now. 

“Gen. Victus, Sir.” Desala greeted and stood at attention. 

Victus took his eyes off Cerrus and looked down at Desala. “Welcome aboard, Lieutenant, at ease.” He said and returned his attention to Cerrus. “Care to spar, Captain?”

It wasn’t unusual for Victus to spar but his demeanor was setting off alarms. Cerrus nodded to him and Desala moved away from the two of them. Seeing the bandage on his neck made his blood boil with jealousy, all he wanted to do was beat the hell out of him. In all honesty the one he should want to beat was Sidda but there was no way in hell he’d hurt her again. One heated sparring match with her was enough; he’d never apply that pressure on her again.

They eyed each other as they took up their stances to fight. Cerrus had been running the events of Oriso over and over in his head despite how much he wanted to block that event from his mind for all eternity. The thing that was bugging him, aside from everything about that event, was how she was able to do it. Touching his crest and running her hands along his mandible running her tongue along his neck, hell even the bite were all things that a Turian would know or someone who had intimate knowledge of getting a Turian aroused. The fact that she successfully pulled it off on him told him two things, she had experience and he was far more gullible than even he realized. The only logical thing he could think of was that she had bedded someone on the ship. He had his suspicions about that and the obvious partner was Nov. Unfortunately by Nov’s reaction to both his whirl on Oriso and how he acted around Sidda, he wasn’t it. If Nov had gotten into Sidda’s pants there was no way in hell he’d be able to keep it to himself. There were various other candidates but none stronger than Victus. Victus. Defending Sidda could easily be chalked up to keeping the assignment in balance and keep Sidda in one piece for the duration. However, the direct threat from him made him think otherwise.

These two had sparred before, it was well known that Cerrus was Victus’ favorite sparring partner as he didn’t hold back and was fairly unpredictable. Nov may have been the best next to him but Cerrus was brutal and bad ass; he carried just enough repressed anger to be deadlier than anyone else on the ship.

Victus attacked quickly and popped Cerrus hard in the face causing him to stagger back. He worked his jaw and shook his head sharply and the fight was on. With no one to referee this potential disaster Victus pretty much had free reign to do what he wanted keeping in mind that Desala was a witness and would undoubtedly stop anything that got too far out of hand. 

After the morning bullshit session with Maridus, Nov, and now Ruvvak, Sidda made her way down to the training room. She had mentioned to Desala that she was willing to show her some tricks that she’d learned from the guys on the ship. Surprisingly, Desala was more open to constructive criticism than she’d expected. Turians were a very proud people and didn’t take kindly to an ‘inferior’ being telling them how to do anything. “Hi, Rekka.” Sidda greeted with a pleasant smile as she tried her best to make friends with the new member. 

Desala nodded to her greeting but said nothing as she observed two of the best fighters in the military trying to knock each other out. Sidda looked over and saw Victus and Cerrus engaged in a heated match that was about to spill off the mat. “What the hell is this?” Sidda asked cocking her head to the side. 

“The General came in a couple minutes ago and they have been at it since.” Desala stated and Sidda could see the body language of this fight wasn’t friendly…or not entirely. “Is this normal? Does the General usually spar like this?”

Sidda had a feeling what this was about and wasn’t pleased. “He didn’t get to where he is by sitting on his ass.” She stated. “Cerrus isn’t bogged down by ‘conventional’ thinking in a fight.”

Desala snorted to how she worded that. “You mean he fights dirty.” She translated and Sidda allowed a chuckle and a nod. “They seem to be going at it pretty hard though.”

Sidda sighed, her disapproval apparent. On any other day she’d like nothing more than to see Victus reduce Cerrus to a bloody heap, but this time Cerrus didn’t deserve the beating Victus was trying to hand him. She did.

Cerrus backed up and brought his arms in to block Victus’ attack. After a combination strike Victus hit Cerrus hard at the bottom of his left ribcage. They heard Cerrus actually let out a grunt/yell in pain as he returned the favor to Victus by punching as hard as he could square in the face. Neither of them was wearing armor so Victus hit him in the perfect place to damage or even break a rib. 

Victus heard the unwilling cry of pain and backed off but eyed him. The expression on Victus’ face told Cerrus he wasn’t playing around. He aimed to hurt him but didn’t know why. Cerrus growled back the pain and shifted his stance so the now injured side was away from Victus. His clenched mandibles gave Victus the clear impression that the hit hurt. “Good.” Victus thought to himself. 

The attack resumed as Victus performed an expert attack much like he did before. Cerrus wasn’t going to be injured again. He trapped his right arm and yanked him toward him driving his right knee into Victus’ chest hard enough to make him grunt and cough. Cerrus immediately backed off and took a few steps back.

Victus eyed him and started another attack aiming solely for the injured rib. Cerrus grunted back the pain from another solid hit to his ribcage. He kicked Victus’ right leg out from under him causing him to lose his balance enough so Cerrus took advantage of it. He punched Victus hard across the jaw but felt his legs get kicked out from under him knocking him flat on his back with a very heavy thud.

Cerrus groaned loudly as Victus righted himself feeling a strain in his left leg from Cerrus knocking him off balance. He stalked around him as Cerrus sat up and looked up at him. “Did I do something wrong, General?” he asked and Victus stopped moving. The confusion about this situation was he didn’t know how to respond, he was angry over something that neither one of them could control. It was the principle of the thing, he couldn’t fight nature, she may not have been his mate but she was his and he wasn’t above fighting to keep her.

“Thanks for the spar, Captain.” Victus stated simply and walked away from him. He saw Sidda standing with Desala and could tell by the look on her face that she didn’t approve of his display. Desala didn’t know any better but Sidda had watched those two spar before…this was different.

“No problem.” Cerrus grunted out as he stood straight up, he could have sworn his carapace was a little flatter now.

Victus didn’t stop to talk to either Desala or Sidda and left the room, somewhat satisfied with the task. Sidda scurried out after him and kept her voice low. “Sir.” She called just loud enough for him to hear as he stepped onto the lift and she skittered on quickly as the door closed. “What the hell was that?” she asked in a tone that was closer to a demand. 

Victus sighed heavily but deferred to the same answer he’d been giving her for the past few days. “Nothing.” 

With that answer again Sidda had had enough and smacked the hold button on the lift. “Enough!” she barked loud enough to make him look down at her sharply. “What is going on with you? And if you say ‘nothing’ or ‘I’m fine’ I’m going to beat the hell out of you.” She snapped and Victus straightened with a grumble.

“He put his hands on you.” He answered sharply and Sidda blinked. 

“So did Nov.” she blurted than thought about her statement. “What are you doing? Trying to get Cal killed?” she thought to herself as he shifted his weight seeming like a mix of uncomfortable and angry. 

“Yeah, but you marked him.” He hissed causing Sidda to blink; he was jealous, plain and simple. 

Victus turned his head away from her as he wrestled with his flurry of emotions. He knew it wasn’t Cerrus’ fault but he wasn’t going to blame Sidda for it, which left a whole lot of jealous anger with nowhere to go. “So take it out on me, Adrien, not him.”

Victus spun toward her grabbing her shoulders and roughly shoved her back into the wall then got close to her as if to kiss her neck. There was a pause as he hovered mere centimeters from her neck. She could feel his breath on her skin and was immediately turned on by his show of force. “You have no idea what I want to do to you right now.” He said into her left ear in a quiet, low growl.

Sidda was ready to melt, hearing him growl like that wasn’t threatening to her, it was turn on and she was ready to take him right now in the lift. “So do it.” She stated and Victus nearly scoffed. She didn’t know what he was talking about but he knew what she wanted. 

He drew back from her and locked eyes with her. “No.” he said, quietly as the lift timed out and continued moving. He couldn’t bring himself to make someone else his. He thought he was over Miral’s death and for the most part he was but he still didn’t want to mark anyone. To make that commitment. He released her shoulders and returned to his proper stance and outward appearance leaving Sidda to eye him to the point he felt like he was under a damn microscope. 

When the lift opened he stepped off quickly and she darted after him. “What do you mean ‘no’?” she asked and Victus shook his head in annoyance. 

“That’s not what I meant, Sid.” He stated, sounding like it came through clenched teeth. 

“Then by all means, share with the class.” She said and he abruptly stopped at the door to his quarters harshly punching the button for it to open glaring down at her. “Don’t give me that look. I’ll pester you until you talk to-…” she said before so was cut off by him swooping down for a kiss. The benefit to having about 10 people on the ship was there was no one around to accidently witness this. It wasn’t clear if this was what he wanted or was just using this to avoid whatever topic he brought up in the lift. Either way…she wasn’t complaining as he clasped his arms around the small of her back and picked her straight up stepping into his quarters. 

**

Nov had been spending most of his time glued to the extranet searching for something on Human birthdays. In the past few hours he had concluded one thing…Humans were nuts. He’d seen it all, from nude parties to those geared toward small children. The basic gist he got from it was gift giving. Turians did the same but the presence of a cake topped with burning candles was unknown to him. Why did they do that? He found himself asking that a lot. What Humans and Turians did have in common was a gathering of friends and family to celebrate one more year in the universe. 

“Cal, you’ve been glued to that terminal for the past two hours…what are you doing?” Rajin asked as she and Ruvio entered the Rec Room chatting about where to spend a day of leave on Palaven. 

“Damar accidently read part of a message from Sidda’s mother. Her birthday is either here or nearly upon us.” He said but his eyes never left the screen as he tapped in a new search. 

“It’s tomorrow.” Ruvio said as she took a sip of the coffee and Nov stopped what he was doing and looked to the pilot. 

“How do you know?” he asked and Ruvio looked from Rajin then to Nov. 

“Victus told me.” She said. “He wanted advice on what to get her for a gift.”

Nov now found Ruvio more interesting than the extranet. “What’d you tell him?” he asked and she snorted to how interested he was in this.

“I said ‘I don’t know. I’m not a human’.” She stated. “But I think she’d appreciate a little taste of home. She’s been stuck here eating that stuff that the Alliance sent her that even she doesn’t like.”

Nov got up from his seat and sat down with them at their table. “Zara, you are the best.” He said. “We’re gonna throw a party tomorrow…here…1900.” He said and Ruvio shook her head.

“Not me…I’m on duty.” She stated and Nov gave her a puzzled expression. 

“Duty for what the ships in Standby Mode?” he asked and Ruvio shrugged. 

“Adrien likes having someone on the CIC at all times.” She stated and Nov scoffed. 

“See what happens when you’re the pet.” He stated and she returned his sarcastic snort.

“Better than being his bitch.” She quipped and Rajin laughed as Nov looked between them pretending to be hurt.

“Ouch!” he replied with a chuckle. “I’m gonna go now…now that I feel wholly outnumbered.” 

**

Nov had spread the word to the teams about Sidda’s birthday and didn’t really care if it got back around to her. The ship was too small even with a few people on it for it not to spread like a zero G fire. Now he had spent the whole night trying to figure out what to give her. She meant more to him than anyone else in the galaxy but he couldn’t give her the gift he really wanted to give her. Victus would chew him up and spit him back out twice. By his research he’d found several examples for the situation he was currently in but still found nothing that helped him He didn’t want to go the route of food or bottles of alcohol, he wanted something with a little more meaning. 

If she was his he knew exactly how he’d celebrate her birthday, he’d give her anything she wanted and romance her as well as he could. It began to upset him more than he’d like the more he thought about her. He dug through his locker to find the item he wanted to give her. It had very little sentimental value for him considering who it was from but if he made it a gift to her it would take on a different meaning. He found the rectangular box and smiled to himself. Finally, he’d give this to someone who could appreciate it. He didn’t.   
He found her walking down the corridor as she headed to her quarters. “Sidda,” Nov called and she looked over her shoulder to see him break into a jog. “wait up.” She stopped at the door to her quarters and turned toward him. “I…uhh…I wanted to give you this.”

Sidda narrowed her eyes and noticed the flat rectangular box he was holding. “What’s this?” she asked as he handed it to her. Nov seemed a little nervous to her, normally he was the element of cool but he was fidgeting now. 

“I know you gave your knife to Nihlus.” He started and clasped his hands behind his back. “This was my father’s…when he died my mother gave it to me.” He said as Sidda lifted to top of the box to see a knife a little smaller than a Bowie knife. It looked close to the standard issue Talons that the crew carried with the curved tip but this one had a deeper serrated top and was slightly thinner than the Talon. The standard Talon had the Palaven stamp on the flat part of the blade near the guard. Since giving her knife to Nihlus she’d been using a Talon so she was familiar with the look of weapon. This one had a different emblem engraved on it. “I want you to have it.” 

Sidda looked up at him sharply unable to hide the surprise on her face. “Cal,” she began, this was a hell of a gesture. “no, I mean…I can’t. This belonged to your father…I can’t accept this.”

“My father and I didn’t exactly get along, Sid, but I want you to have this.” He said and Sidda ran her fingers over the cold steel and leather wrapped handle. “Happy Birthday, Sidda.”  
Sidda looked up at him and cocked her head. “How did you-…”

“Uhh, Damar accidently read the first line of the message from your mother before realizing this was personal correspondence for you.” He said quietly. He hoped she wouldn’t get mad about them invading her privacy. “Sorry.”

Sidda smiled to him with the hinting of a blush adding color to her cheeks. “That’s okay.” She said and didn’t quite know what to think about the gift that he just gave her. “Thank you, Cal.” She stated but the way she felt about the gift wasn’t reflected in her tone. “I mean it. Really, thank you, Cal.”

Nov could barely contain himself; his feelings were turned on its ear because of what happened on Oriso. He’d been wrestling with them for the past week, normally he was good with burying feelings and letting go of women he couldn’t have. He was thrown with having serious feelings for Sidda.

Nov moved through the ship and ended up in the Rec Room. He stopped at the counter placing both hands on it trying to keep from losing his temper. “That was a stupid idea. A stupid gesture. Why did I just do that?” His temper flared and he slapped the containers off the counter with his left hand letting them clatter to the ground upset over how he was feeling. He cringed a little hearing the metal canisters crash across the floor. He leaned on the counter gripping the edge tight with his hands and shook his head to the stupid gesture he just made. 

“Lieutenant?” Victus questioned causing him to spin. 

“Sir.” He said and felt a little awkward and looking at the canisters and their spilled contents on the deck plating. “Sorry, Sir.” 

“Something wrong?” he asked and Nov couldn’t really answer that after all this was the one he lost to. Hell, Victus swooped in long before anyone else did no one on the ship ever had a chance to act.

He contained himself and looked away. “No, Sir.” He said and started picking up the mess he created and avoided the topic that would likely get him an ass kicking. “Just a bad day.”  
Victus picked up the lid of one of the canisters that clambered to his feet. “Are you sure?” he asked and Nov nodded sharply. 

Nov put the canisters back up on the counter and took the lid from him. “Yes, Sir.”

His short answers started to make Victus suspicious. “Are you alright, Callus?” 

“No.” Nov thought. “I love the woman you have your claws in.” His silence was an indicator that something was wrong. “I’m fine, Sir, just some things on my mind.” This is precisely what he didn’t want; he’d gone nearly 7 years without making something personal. He’d never had a problem with Victus or anyone onboard…until Sidda, now he found himself at odds with Victus, so to speak. 

**

Nov collected himself after his incident in the Rec Room and finished his task of inviting people to attend Sidda’s party. His last invitation went to Cerrus whose response was rather eloquent for an insult. Deciding that attending her birthday ranked somewhere below being launched out of a torpedo tube he declined. 

Sidda had arrived in the Rec Room to find only Maridus there at the moment. She had brought with her the deck of cards that she brought with her in the hopes of teaching these Turians how to play a decent game of five card draw. “Hey, Damar.” She greeted and sat down at the midsize square table. “You wanna play?”

Maridus was collecting some glasses from the cabinet when he turned to look at what she was referring to. “What is it?” he asked.

“It’s called poker.” She said and began to deal out a hand for him even though he hadn’t told her he was joining yet. “Simple really. Five cards make the best of what you have.” A moment later Nov entered and listened in on the conversation. 

“Yeah…I’ll try it.” Maridus stated as he turned his back to Sidda who was busy dealing in another hand now. She wasn’t looking so it gave Maridus time to hatch a scheme with Nov.   
“Try?” Nov asked and Maridus raised the index finger of his right hand to him. 

“Shut up.” He quipped quickly. “Let’s have some fun with the Human.” He added and Nov stifled a laugh. This was gonna be good. 

About 20 minutes later after Sidda spent a considerable amount of time going through the rules and combinations of Five Card Draw and babying them as they went through a round she was staring at a very nice two pair. Nov had folded with his hand of pure junk leaving Maridus to close the deal.

“Two pair. Kings and Duces.” Sidda stated. Not the best hand ever in a card game but it was decent.

Nov looked to Maridus. “Did you get the straight?” he asked and Sidda narrowed her eyes.

“What?” she asked. 

Maridus smirked. “Indeed I did, Lieutenant.” He stated. “Four, five, six, seven, and eight…sorry, Sid.”

It hit her like a brick. “You hustled me!” Sidda exclaimed as she realized that Maridus and Nov had played her like fiddle. “You bastards.” She said leaning over the table resting on her outstretched arms. 

They chuckled to her reaction and Nov put the deck back together. “Sidda, every planet, every culture has a form of poker.” Maridus stated as Nov plucked the cards from her hands filing them back into the deck.

“Happy birthday to me…” she muttered. “Just got my ass kicked at poker by a bunch of over grown Blue Jays.” 

Nov scoffed to that friendly insult. “Someone’s a sore loser.”

“Didn’t anyone tell you that the birthday girl is always right on her birthday?” she asked and the two looked at each other then back to her.

“Nah.” They both said at the same time shaking their head.

Nov stood and made his way over to the cabinet grabbing a bottle of Brandy and a few glasses. “Let’s get this party going.” He stated and started to pour three glasses.

“Hold on. Hold on.” Maridus said and presented Sidda with a bottle. “Happy birthday, Sid.”

“Batarian Shard Wine?” she questioned and chuckled. “Very nice, thanks Damar.” Sidda had tasted the Shard Wine before and it was aptly named, it tasted like battery acid, wasn’t smooth it, and had a feeling of crushed glass while it went down. It packed a punch too but it took a decent amount to get drunk off of because it was so hard to choke down.

Nov chuckled. “Oh this is gonna be fun.” 

As the rest of the party goers arrived some brought a gift or two. Like Maridus, Rajin arrived with a bottle that she could drink, bottle of Thessian Red. She also gave her a care package of Asari Teas and Coffee, it was a last minute give she thought of after speaking to Ruvio. There was one person missing, Victus had said he was going to be there but according to Ruvio he wasn’t on the ship. No doubt something had come up but he didn’t even tell Sidda he was going to be late. After about two hours Victus finally arrived.

“General.” Ruvvak greeted and stood along with Desala. 

Victus spared them a glance; they hadn’t learned the somewhat relaxed protocols on this ship. He didn’t care if the crew stood when he entered the room saluted him. “As you were.” He stated and looked down at Sidda who was now not taking it easy on boys who hustled her at poker. “Commander.”

Sidda turned in her seat and looked up at him, he was carrying a bottle, looked like the unanimous gifts for her 30th birthday was booze. She wasn’t going to turn it away; this had been a tough assignment. “Sir.” She greeted with a smile. 

“I apologize for being late it took some time to track this down.” He stated and handed her the bottle.

Sidda took it and read the label; it was in English and in a glass bottle. “Oh, my God…30 year old Scotch.” She said with a smile. “Where the hell did you get this?”

Victus shrugged. “Took some time…a lot of time, actually but I found it.” He stated. 

“Thank you, A-…Sir.” She said correcting herself and resisting the urge to embrace him and give him a kiss.

Victus clasped his hands behind his back and offered her a nod. “You’re welcome, Commander, happy birthday.”

Maridus looked between the two and smiled inwardly. He liked these two as a match; Victus had never even looked at another female in years until Sidda came along. The problem he saw now was Nov, it was becoming harder and harder for Nov to hide attraction and feelings and Maridus could make an educated guess on what Victus’ reaction would be. 

“Shall we?” Sidda stated and worked the cap off the bottle. She smelled the contents and smiled, that was a smell she missed. It’d been a while since she had Scotch and an even longer time since she’d had really good Scotch. “Oh you guys are so screwed now.” She stated. “My turn to out drink you guys.”

Shortly after she threw down the drinking game gauntlet, Desala turned on the Biotiball game and party escalated from there. It was an Asari/Human game but the intoxicated attendants did the normal thing and began betting. Being the only two biotics on the ship Desala and Sidda began competing about who had the better powers and things went downhill from there eventually culminating in an arm wrestling match between them with biotic assistance. 

Over the course of the night Sidda drank mostly the Shard Wine, had several Turian Brandy shots, and one drink of the Trebin stuff that one knew how it got there. She didn’t want to polish off Victus’ gift but cracked it open to share a few shots with whoever was brave enough. Victus, Nov, and Maridus took a shot and Nov was buzzing in seconds. She could now see the flipside of the dextro-levo difference when it came to booze. Sometime after the dextro-levo mix of drinks the memory faltered. 

Cerrus could care less about Sidda’s birthday, he didn’t attend and no one really expected him to. The Lante was quiet; the majority of the ship was in standby mode. Victus had given the order to recall the crew in two days so their business was just about over. He rode the lift to the next level down and walked when the door opened he found Rajin barely standing on her feet. No question, she was either still drunk or hungover he couldn’t tell which. 

He scoffed and she rested her head against her left arm she was using to lean on the wall. Her head hit her arm with a thud and he let out a laugh. “Deliah.”

“Tyr.” She muttered in a pained and very drunk tone. “What level am I on?”

“Four.” He said cocking his head to her sounding a little amused at the highly drunken state of his oldest friend. 

“Oh, great…” she droned. “One more level…then hopefully I can find my quarters?”

Cerrus laughed softly. “Do you need an escort?”

Rajin stood up straight and carefully made her way past him and onto the lift. “Oh, nonsense…I am highly trained in special operations, covert operations, and battlefield medicine…I think I can find my quarters.” She stated and Cerrus snickered. 

“50 credits says you pass out in the hall.” He stated and pressed the button for her level as she leaned on the wall again.

“You’re on.” She stated as the door closed.

Cerrus shook his head with a chuckle; if Rajin looked like that he had to see what the rest looked like. He made his way down the hall and surveyed the mess in the Rec Room. He hadn’t seen an aftermath like this in a very long time; there were large gaps in his memory from the day he was assigned to Blackwatch. All he remembered was waking up in the lift with his wife standing over him trying not to laugh. Some of the party goers had left, Masso left the party earlier than the rest, Desala had gone to the party and bonded with Sidda but left for her quarters as the rest of them continued to drink and carry on. 

He nearly laughed at the condition of the Rec Room and where he found everyone. Rajin, Maridus and Victus’ birthday gifts leveled the playing field for Sidda when it came to drinking and was finally able to challenge the boys to a drinking game. She drank until Maridus passed out; Victus bowed out, finally outdid Nov, but spectacularly lost to Kalvaris who wound up crowning Ruvvak as king of the bottle. Nov and Kalvaris were asleep heads down on the card table, Sidda was on the main couch lying on her back the empty bottle of Shard Wine tucked under her right arm. Maridus was passed out on the ground along with Ruvvak, oddly enough Victus wasn’t in the room but there was an open seat where he figured he had been. 

He saw movement, Sidda had started to stir on the cough and a groan emanated from her. “What the hell-…” he began with a chuckle as he moved further into the room.  
“Ohhh-…” she groaned and her hands when to her head in a vain attempt to make the throbbing stop. 

“Maybe I should have come last night.” He stated and picked up an empty metal bottle of what was Trebin Wine. That stuff reminded Sidda of Absinthe she had one shot of it and damn near threw up. He raised the bottle about 12 inches off the table and unceremoniously dropped it in the center of the metal table.

The metal on metal clatter startled Nov and Kalvaris awake, sitting straight up. “I’m up. I’m up.” Nov said in a loud tone, the rude awakening caused his head to feel like it was going to explode. “Oh great fucking Spirits…Tyr, you asshole.” His groan was matched by Kalvaris’ whose hands went to his temples.

“Good morning…this is your Captain speaking…” he began, immensely enjoying tormenting the room of his very hungover shipmates. 

“This is your Major speaking, Captain, shut the hell up…that’s an order.” Maridus droned from his position on the deck. He, along with most everyone else in the room, was startled awake by Cerrus’ metal on metal clang. 

He chuckled to Maridus’ order but was enjoying their pain a little too much. “So who won?”

Sidda’s brain was in a fog, she kept her eyes closed since when she opened them she left like she was on a spinning roller coaster ride. “Linus…” she began in a low calling tone. “Linus…” she called again this time throwing a pillow or a cushion or whatever it was at the snoring Turian on the floor. “Wake up, King of the Bottle.”

Cerrus let out a laugh and looked around the room, the things he could do to these hungover people to increase their misery was nearly endless. “Rik, get up…time for drills.” He stated with a chuckle and a slightly elevated tone. 

“With all due respect, Captain…no.” Kalvaris replied, slowly but Cerrus wasn’t done. He clapped his hands together with what Sidda could only describe as a shit eating grin.

“Come on, guys, this Rec Room’s not gonna clean itself.” He said in a tone just loud enough to make them all squirm.

“Cal…” Sidda began in a drone. “kill him.”

“Major, permission to kill, Capt. Cerrus?” Nov asked in a monotone as he put his head back down on the table.

“Granted.” Maridus replied quickly as he covered his face with the cushion that had skipped off Ruvvak and landed on him.

Over the course of the next hour the party attendants slowly, very slowly, dispersed. Victus had surfaced and, though he tried to mask it, was dealing with a hangover same at everyone else. He helped the birthday girl to her quarters and would have gladly stayed with her but an incoming call pulled him away. Nov and Kalvaris carefully made their way to their respective quarters…Kalvaris managed to find the bathroom on the way so he didn’t throw up in the hall. Since Ruvvak was the last man standing at the end of the night he was the last man on his feet the next morning. It took Cerrus and Masso an hour to get him off the floor and to his quarters. Along the way Cerrus realized that Rajin now owed him 50 credits as he found the medic passed out at the door to her quarters. He chuckled to that and left Masso to tend to Ruvvak and turned his attention to Rajin.   
“Alright, Deliah, time to get up.” He said and tapped the door to her quarters and picked her up easily. “You owe me 50 credits and I intend to collect.” He added and placed his fellow Blackwatch member in bed and headed out to deal with the rest.


	14. Leave No One Behind

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

 

Chapter Fourteen: Leave No One Behind

 

Maridus entered the Rec Room and saw Sidda sitting at the table with her feet up on it fiddling with a knife. There was one question about the knife she had, when Nov gave it to her she never asked about the different stamp on it. It wasn’t the normal military stamp. He had told her the knife belonged to his father but also that he and his father didn’t get along. 

“Hey, Damar.” She greeted with a smile as she wiped the blade off with a cloth. 

“Sid.” He replied while crossed the room to the cooler to get a drink, on his way he caught the gleam of the knife and glanced down at it. “Isn’t that Nov’s knife?” he asked recognizing it from when he took the nick out of the edge. 

Sidda nodded as he pulled a bottle of water out along with his drink offering it to her. “Thank you.” She said and leaned forward taking the bottle. “Cal gave this to me for my birthday.”

Maridus paused looking down at her and blinked. “He did?” he asked a little surprised. 

Sidda was oblivious to Maridus’ tone; she too was a little surprised at his gift but knew enough to feel honored by it. “Yeah,” she replied as she looked at the blade. “I like it…but I keep meaning to ask him why the stamp is different.”

Maridus made a mental note to take a piece of out Nov’s hide. “I can answer that.” He stated sitting down. “That’s a family knife. That’s the colony sigil of Rylo.”

Sidda grunted a response as she looked at the knife. “I still don’t know why he gave it to me.” She said. “If this belonged to my father, I’d never give it away.”

Maridus scoffed. “I guarantee your relationship with your father was better than Nov’s was with his.” He stated. 

Sidda’s curiosity was peaked as she put the knife back in its sheath. Just then an alarm sounded through the ship. “Battle stations. All hands to battle stations. Maj. Maridus to CIC.”   
The two of them shot to their feet as Maridus scurried to the lift. “Ground teams, prepare to board.”

**

Maridus trotted onto the CIC just at the Lante completed a jump. The CIC was buzzing like a well-oiled machine. Crew members were at their stations and the ship was primed for a fight. “General?” he questioned and took his station. “What’s going on?”

“A Volus refueling station is under attack by Raiders.” Victus replied.

“Jump complete, Sir, ETA 2 minutes.” Ruvio informed and Maridus’ screen was flooded with data. 

“Make it sooner, Lieutenant.” Victus ordered.

“Got a reading.” Maridus stated. “Two ships. Raider classification.” He said and paused for a second. “Our secret’s out, they know we’re here and changing course to intercept.”

It always boggled their minds when an obviously inferior ship tried to take on a ship built for nothing but combat like the Lante. Victus sighed. “Ready weapons. Open a channel.” He ordered. “This is the PFS Lante to Raiding party; you are in violation of Volus territory, stand down and prepare to be boarded.”

“No reply.” Maridus said. “They’re coming in on attack vector, lead ship is firing.”

Victus sighed again. “That’ll be a ‘no’.” he said and the ship shook at the impact of the Raiders weapons fire. “Return fire.”

This was turning into a halfway decent dogfight. Ruvio rarely had the chance to put the Lante through her paces but every once in a while they came up against Batarians who’d lost their minds, Slavers and Raiders who thought they could handle a gunship like this Turian frigate, or Mercenary bands trying to make a name for themselves. Trying and failing, in the case. It was a two on one fight but the balance was still tipped in the Lante’s favor. They out classed the Mercs in every way but Ruvio had to give credit where it was due. They didn’t back off.

She was chasing the lead ship and actually having a good time with it. “Stay on him, Zara.” Victus stated. “Weapons, fire when you get a lock.”

“Second ship’s trying to close in behind us.” Maridus said quietly.

The weapons officer fired as soon as the system locked and the Merc ship was blown into a billion tiny bits. Ruvio was going so fast she flew through the debris field and banked the frigate to out maneuver the second ship that was tailing them. 

“Target locked.” Weapons reported.

“Fire.” Victus ordered and the second ship joined the first in the afterlife. 

“Second ship destroyed.” Maridus said and Victus nodded in approval over how his crew handled that.

“Well done.” He stated. “Nice flying, Zara.”

Ruvio chuckled as she put the ship back on course to the Volus refueling station. “Thank you, Sir.”

“We’re being hailed by the refueling station.” Maridus stated as his console beeped. Victus said nothing, just nodded his head indicating that he wanted Maridus to proceed. 

“Lante, I am Pashan Ell, thank you for your help.” The Volus stated. “But I fear we have another problem. We’re badly damaged, one of our fuel tanks has ruptured and our orbit is decaying rapidly.”

“General, analysis of the giant, highly unstable hydrogen, if their orbit drops them too low they might burn up and ignite the giant’s upper atmosphere.” Maridus stated quickly and Victus nodded. “Or they’ll blow up and produce the same outcome.”

“How many people do you have?” he asked the Pashan.

“37.” Pashan replied. “37 Turians, Volus, and Batarians.”

Victus nodded. “We’ll get you and your people out. Stand by.”

The comm link ended and Victus turned to Maridus. “Shuttles?”

Maridus shook his head. “At the rate they’re falling toward the planet, not enough time to get 37 people out.” He said and Victus nodded heeding his first officer’s advice and walked up to Ruvio in the cockpit. 

“Zara, can you dock with them?” he asked. 

“Orbit’s unstable and there’s a lot of turbulence, Adrien.” She replied. “One wrong move and we’re vaporized or damaged to badly to get home.”

Victus grumbled. That wasn’t what he asked. “Can you capture it and maintain the seal long enough for us to get 37 people off?”

Ruvio huffed. “I’ll do my best…hopefully I don’t blow us up in the process.” She replied and Victus patted her shoulder. 

“Do it.” He said and walked by to his station. “Argo. Centar. Meet me at the airlock prepare to assist an evacuation.” He announced into the comm. “Damar, you too.”

**

What Ruvio was about to do was going to be extremely hairy. She’d practiced docking in extreme situations several times but this was the only time she actually performed it was under combat conditions. She’d never had to chase a refueling station that was falling into a gas giant threatening to explode. 

“Alright everyone, hang onto something they didn’t exactly teach this at the academy.” Ruvio said and began her speedy approach to the station. “I’d stand clear of the airlock if I were you.” She said into the open comm to the teams that started to gather. Victus paused and looked back to Maridus who couldn’t hide the worry about docking in such a volatile situation. “If I don’t do this right we’ll spark an explosion and speed this disaster right along.”

Her hands flew over the controls and she sighed. “Matching course and speed.” She stated and angled the Lante toward the airlock. The crew near the airlock waited with bated breath for the go ahead from Ruvio. There was silence as the rest of the teams arrived, Sidda stuffed her long thick braid under her helmet and locked it in place. Nov stood to her left and Ruvvak to her right waiting quietly like the rest. 

The ship shook as Ruvio came up on the station a little faster than she’d like but she got the hole in one of the first try. “Got it.” She stated trying to hide the smile on her face. “Maintaining manual control, estimate 6 minutes before the orbit decays too low or the station explodes.”

Maridus stepped forward and tapped the airlock door to test the seal. “Son of a bitch, she did it.” He muttered and Victus scoffed. 

“Zara, prepare a speech,” Victus stated. “you’re gonna get a medal.” The airlock cycled and opened flooding the Lante’s airlock smoke. Victus put his helmet on along with the rest of his people. “Alright, everyone comes off and goes to Medical.”

Sidda stepped aboard letting about 10 of the stations people flood onto the ship. The station was filled with smoke and the fire caused by the fuel rupture was quickly consuming the rest of the station. The evacuation was organized as most of the workers had rallied to the airlock; the problem was it was so smoky and toxic it was disorienting even with the helmets on. 

The cluster of commotion at the airlock was chaos to the outside observer but organized chaos to the Lante crew. The evacuation of the station had to happen fast, it was falling into a gas giant and threatening to explode…that was bad for all parties involved. 

Ruvio had demonstrated her skills and precariously docked the ship with the station but it wasn’t going to last forever, at any second she could lose the stations seal and then it was downhill from there. 

“Where’s Shepard?” Victus asked as Cerrus passed a Turian worker off to one of Holum’s medical staff. 

“Went off to find someone from the engineering section.” He replied as Nov arrived handing his charge off to Rajin. 

“Shepard, this is Victus, do you copy?” he asked and heard no response. “Shepard, do you copy?”

“Sir, head count update…one still out. A Volus.” Maridus said and Victus got a bad feeling. Sidda wasn’t answering.

“Alright, I’m going in there to get her.” Victus stated and Maridus disagreed. 

“Sir?” he began. “Any minute now we’re gonna lose this seal not to mention the pending explosion that’s gonna ignite the atmosphere.” Maridus argued.

“I’m well aware of the situation, Major.” He stated and put his helmet on.

Nov stepped up, overhearing the debate. “General, I’ll go.”

“Stand fast, Lieutenant.” Victus replied. “I’ll go.” He stated quickly and Nov paused in his movement looking from him to Maridus. The ship shook as if it had been fired upon knocking Nov into the wall to his right; Victus grabbed the wall to steady himself quickly as Maridus did the same. “Report?” Victus ordered.

“The pressure’s warping the seal, Adrien; I’m not going to be able to hold this much longer.” Ruvio reported, she was doing a hell of a job as it was but she wasn’t a miracle worker.  
“Keep with it. I’m going aboard.” He stated and turned away from Nov and Maridus.

“Sir, I can’t allow that.” Maridus stated. “We have to push off now and jump away.” 

“I am not leaving her behind, Major!” Victus barked. 

It was CO versus XO. Maridus was right; to the Turians one loss was acceptable in the long run. Sacrifice was expected in the course of their duty, but Victus refused to blatantly leave Sidda on the station and he didn’t care if he risked all 130 crew members and his ship. “She means as much to me as she does to you, Sir, but it’s too big of a risk. I can’t let you do this.” Maridus snapped as his respectful tone went out the window.

“I will not lose another one, Major!” Victus roared as he took a step toward Maridus. His face may have been hidden behind his helmet but there was no question to Nov, Cerrus, or Maridus that he was pissed off. The Lante rocked again and alarms sounded at the airlock. “Return to your station, that’s an order, Major.” He growled and turned his attention to his suit comm. “Zara, time?”

“Four minutes, Sir.” She replied and Maridus still didn’t agree with this. “If we’re lucky.” 

Maridus was fuming, while he’d never been hugely by the book and he didn’t really want to leave Sidda behind, but the protocol was right. “You’ve got two, Sir.” He growled as Victus disappeared into the smoke filled fueling station. He knew Maridus would do as he was trained to do and he expected nothing less.

As Maridus followed Victus’ order and headed off for the CIC, Cerrus stepped toward to the airlock and closed it…just in case Ruvio lost the seal. He’d rather not be sucked out into the radiation of the gas giant. He turned to Nov who glanced at him and sighed. When Victus and Maridus fought it never boded well for the ship. 

“Somehow I don’t think he was talking about losing another crewmember.” Cerrus stated and Nov shifted his weight but said nothing. “He’s sleeping with her isn’t he?” he stated and Nov, still hidden behind his helmet said nothing but looked down at the floor then away from Cerrus. Cerrus shook his head to the silence from Nov and paced by the airlock door waiting to see Victus return. “I had a feeling it was either him or you…disgusting either way.” He muttered as Nov rolled his eyes to Cerrus’ racism. 

“With all due respect, Captain, but shut up.” He stated and Cerrus looked at him, his crabby glower hidden behind his helmet. “I wouldn’t leave her behind either and don’t even begin to tell me you would.”

Nov was correct. Since the botched mission with Blackwatch, Cerrus vowed to never lose anyone else under his command even if that included Sidda. 

Victus had never pissed Maridus off this much. This was as drastic as a situation could be and Victus wasn’t thinking clearly. He knew something like this was bound to happen with the growing relationship between the two. He couldn’t blame him for not wanting to leave her but there was more at stake than the life of one person. 

He was cursing more than he had in the past ten years as he made his way into the CIC still wearing his armor. “Fucking stubborn son of a bitch. Zara!” he barked. “Start the clock, two minutes!”

His tone made her narrow her eyes to him. Maridus was a calm person and hardly ever raised his voice, something was wrong and she knew it. “Sir?”

Maridus didn’t want to repeat himself over this, the more the thought about it the more it pissed him off. “Two minutes, Lieutenant, start the clock. When it runs down push us off from the station and jump us away.”

“What about the General and the Commander?” she asked and Maridus punched a few keys at his station reflecting how irritated he was. 

“You have your orders, Lieutenant.” He stated and saw her open her mouth to ask a question or protest. “Lieutenant, when this station blows it going to ignite the atmosphere of this giant…then we’re screwed…start the clock.” He snapped and Ruvio turned away from him.

 

Victus made his way through the smoke filled corridors. The damage caused by the Merc Raiders was extreme and what began as several small fires had spread beyond the stations ability to handle. The fuel rupture was literally adding fuel to the fire and causing more problems that would soon engulf the station in flames. There was no doubt that Maridus would follow his training and he didn’t relish the idea of being incinerated. 

“Sid!” he called, his visibility hindered by all the smoke. He followed the signs for the Engineering level and came around the corner to see two bodies at the bottom of the staircase with structural debris on and around them. He panicked for a second but controlled himself. “Sidda!” he called and rushed to her side dropping down to one knee looking over her. It seemed that the conduit they had passed exploded and caused a support to collapse onto them. He looked behind him to see if the Volus was still alive but noticed that half of the helmet was missing, blown away by the explosion. He moved the debris from her unsure if Sidda was still breathing, with all the smoke and noise he couldn’t tell. The station shook violently enough to knock him on his ass. It was time to go. He gathered Sidda up in his arms and carried her back the way he came. 

Maridus gripped the console as the ship was hit by the giant’s gravitational turbulence, alarms sounded off to the annoyance of Ruvio. A stress indicator came up for the docking collar. 

Ruvio let out a Turian curse. “Major…” she stated in a tone of warning. 

“Time?” Maridus asked. 

“30 seconds…”she replied quickly. Best case scenario was the docking collar they had would be ripped off causing a ton of damage to the hull of the ship and to the airlock. Worst case was that the collar would give, rupture the hull, and send the frigate tumbling right into the massive explosion that was about to take place. She didn’t like either one of those options. 

“Release the station.” Maridus ordered knowing full well what that order carried with it. “All hands stand clear of the airlock, emergency release in 5-…” he announced into the intercom.

“Hold! Hold!” Cerrus barked into the comm. “Victus is at the airlock…cycling him through now.” 

Cerrus and Nov wished the outer airlock door would open just a little bit faster. As soon as Victus saw an opening he could fit through he ducked in and Cerrus hit the emergency close button which stopped it immediately and closed it in seconds. 

“Got em!” Nov stated loudly into the comm. “Go!”

That was all the encouragement that Ruvio needed. She hit the flashing button on her screen and the ship jerked sharply to the side as she hit max thrust to clear the giant’s atmosphere before engaging the mass effect core. It truly was a spectacular sight as the forward section of the refueling station exploded. The flammable upper atmosphere of the giant ignited in a brilliant celestial display vaporizing the station and sending a wave of flames out in all directions.

“Engaging mass effect core.” Ruvio stated and the frigate jumped away to safety.

**

Holum was getting tired of seeing his most loyal customer. Once again, Sidda was in Medical for an injury sustained on a mission, nothing serious, just a concussion bad enough to knock her out. When the conduit exploded it sent her into the bulkhead and it was enough to render her unconscious. 

She’d heard a few things about what had transpired during the evacuation and that Maridus and Victus clashed like rams over protocol. Victus was nowhere to be found, no one had seen him since he brought her into Medical. No doubt he was preoccupied with the people they had rescued. 

“I’m gonna issue you a challenge, Commander.” Holum stated as Sidda zipped up her blue uniform. “I don’t want to see you in this bay as a patient for the next four months.”

Sidda scoffed to his comment. “How about you let Cerrus, Batarians, and any other person we come across in on that little challenge.” She stated. “Might increase my odds.”

Holum snorted. “I’ll give you one thing, Commander; you’re tougher than everyone else on this ship.”

Sidda walked toward him and patted his left arm. “I guess I have to be, Doc…you just keep patching me up and I’ll keep coming up with new and amazing reasons for you to do so.” She said with a chuckle and headed out. 

**

A day later the Lante had dropped the workers off at Turian and Volus run waypoint. Rescuing 36 of 37 was truly amazing given the issues but Sidda didn’t like the fact that she failed to rescue the 37th crew member. Honestly she wanted to know what happened that made the crew whisper in the corners and feed the already active rumor mill. 

Sidda tapped on the door and waited for it to open. When it did she looked up at Maridus looking down at her. 

“Sidda.” He greeted with a hint of surprise in his voice. “Come in.” he added after a moment and was curious to see how this was going to play out. “How..uhh…how are you?” he asked and she snorted. 

“I’ve been hit harder, Damar.” She stated and he cackled slightly. 

“I know.” He said. “What…what can I do for you?”

Sidda had heard several rumors as to what happened while she was unconscious. “What happened between you and Victus?” she asked, not bothering to beat around the bush.

Maridus groaned, this was going to go one of two ways. Either she’d understand and everything would be fine or she’d get pissed and storm out. “What have you heard?”  
“You and Victus had it out at the airlock over me.” She stated bluntly. 

“I wanted to leave you behind.” Maridus answered bluntly. “I’m the first officer, Sid; my duty is to protect this ship and crew. Victus was willing to risk everyone on ship with the very real possibility of it being destroyed to save you.” He babbled and began to sound as defensive as ever. “I…I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t risk 130 people to save one, not even you.” Sidda listened to his honesty and found a hard time disagreeing with him but she couldn’t agree with him fully. “A few years ago there was an officer onboard named Sellix. Good officer, good friend. We had to leave him behind on planet during a covert raid. Things went sideways, units got separated and we lost contact with Sellix. Victus ordered us to leave him behind. When I questioned him about it he simply said ‘victory at any cost, including one of our own’.”

Sidda listened to him and got the sense that he was frustrated with having to explain his actions. “You followed your training.”

Maridus nodded. “And I suppose you don’t agree.”

Sidda leaned against the locker. “No. No, but that’s the difference in our training. ‘Victory at any cost’ for Turians, but it is ‘Leave no man behind’ for humans.” She stated and Maridus looked to her a little surprised she wasn’t angry with him. “I’d have done the same thing. I’m not worth 130 people and a ship no matter how much you like me.”

Maridus scoffed. “Tell that to Victus.”

Sidda chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t sweat it.” She stated. “You’ve been his first officer for years…a little disagreement like that shouldn’t be a problem.”

“I know.” He replied. “It just never feels right being on opposite sides…he’s my mentor, he’s taught me everything that I know. I hope you realize just how he feels about you…he wouldn’t have done that for just anyone.”

“How do you know it was about me?” she asked and Maridus sighed rubbing his face with his left hand.

“Because when I told him we had to leave he said he wasn’t going to lose another…” he stated. “and he wasn’t talking about a crew member.” 

Sidda felt a flutter of butterflies in her stomach, she could guess what he meant by ‘another’ but wasn’t going to assume the wrong thing. That would have been embarrassing. 

 

Maridus wasn’t looking forward to chatting with Victus, it wasn’t the first time they’d disagreed but it was the first time it was about something as important as this. His feelings for Sidda compromised the ship and Victus knew that. For Maridus’ part, he hoped that Victus wouldn’t eject him from his command for this. 

Victus poured two glasses of Brandy as Maridus stood quietly waiting for his commanding officer to say something. “Do you know how many times Palaven Command has tried to reassign you away from me?” he asked and Maridus shook his head taking the glass that was offered to him. “Quite a few, each time I told them no.” Maridus was silent as he let him talk. “I expect you to disagree with me, Damar, that’s why I won’t let you go. Do you know why?”

Maridus took a drink of the Brandy as Victus took a swig of his. “Because you trained me to speak my mind.”

Victus nodded. “Because you’re not afraid to. I’m not perfect and I’m not always right. You were right, Damar, protocol and standard procedure…you were right.” He said again and set his glass down walking up to stand face to face with his first officer. “But let me make one thing perfectly clear, Major, I would sacrifice every member of this crew, this ship, and myself to save Sidda. You can put that in your report; note it in your log, whatever you wish. Clear?”

Maridus gave him a nod. “Understood, Sir.” He replied. His suspicions about how much their relationship had grown were confirmed. 

**

Grumbling as he moved through the ship, Maridus was aggravated. He really couldn’t blame Victus as he would do the same damn thing if it saved Solana. What irritated him was the disregard for everything Victus taught him. It was complex and frustrating as hell. 

Nov was seated at the Rec Room’s long table reading a letter from his mother. “Hey, I see you survived.” Nov stated and Maridus glowered down at him. “How’s it feel going toe to toe with the boss?”

Maridus wasn’t in the mood. “Lieutenant, not now.”

Nov blinked and nodded. “Sorry.” He replied and went back to reading his mother’s letter. 

“Did you tell your mother you gave your family knife to a human?” he asked and Nov stopped reading looking up at Maridus puzzled by the statement. 

“First of all, it was mine to give. Second, what business is that of yours?” he asked and Maridus scoffed. 

“You’re playing with fire, Cal, back off.” He stated, this really wasn’t the time to tell Nov to steer clear of Sidda. “Giving her your family knife can only be seen in one light.”

Nov knew his feelings for Sidda were genuine but were complicated by his own honor and that he didn’t want to ruin a relationship that was working. He didn’t want to listen to Maridus’ opinion and didn’t want to argue with him either. He stood and started to walk out. 

Maridus knew his mood had translated into a desire to protect Nov, Sidda, and Victus from an explosive situation that could ruin lives in this standoffish confrontation. “Cal.” He began making Nov stop and turn to look at him. “Be careful. If the General finds out how you feel about Sid he’ll probably kill you.”

Nov was getting tired of people telling him what to do about his feelings for the one person he wanted to be with. He wasn’t going to force the issue but he would like to be left alone about it. “Major, permission to speak?” he asked and Maridus nodded to him. “Stay the fuck out of my personal life.” He said and walked out leaving Maridus there to ponder that. 

**

The Lante was pretty much home for Sidda now. You could say her mission was a complete success, proving to the Turians that humans were not weak and could handle the trials of life in space. Not all Humans were like Sidda though and they knew that. She’d done more to further relations between the species in the past year than any Ambassador in the past 10 years. Her one year tour was almost over, for her it was bittersweet, more bitter than sweet. She’d grown to think of the Turian crew as family, Maridus and Nov especially. She’d also fallen in love with Victus and the entire ship knew it. He let that cat out of the bag by sheer accident but if he hadn’t she’d be dead. He saved her life on that station, an action that showed his devotion to her. According to Maridus, if it had been anyone else he would have cut his losses because the risk versus reward was too great. He abandoned his training and went with his heart.

She stood looking at the artwork in Victus’ quarters, she wasn’t one for art but the pieces he had were nice, subtle, mostly panoramic painting or drawings of various planets. Now that he’d announced their relationship, or rather his feelings for Sidda, so spectacularly to everyone near the airlock things had changed. The news spread like wildfire on Lante and now everyone knew. “You wanna tell me what happened?” she asked and heard Victus sigh. “What did you mean by you didn’t want to lose another? Another what?” 

He remained silent to her question and as she observed the paintings he was pouring two glasses of Turian Brandy. The drink didn’t affect him much anymore since he’d been drinking it for years but its effect on Sidda was somewhat more drastic. Being a Dextro drink she found it sweet but more than two glasses gave her the worst hangover in the universe. 

He made his way over to her and handed her the glass. “I’ve, umm,” he said trying to be open with her, that was hard for him since he was a private, soft spoken man. “I’ve never told you about my mate have I.”

Sidda took a sip of the Brandy and shook her head. “No. I figured you’d tell me when you were ready.” She said and he nodded. Sidda had met Tarquin on Palaven but Victus was quiet about Tarquin’s mother and she wasn’t about to push. 

“I appreciate your patience.” He said and gestured for her to sit down on the sofa. “Her name was Miral. She was an artist.” He explained gesturing to the paintings on the wall. “She did these.”

Sidda had no idea they were hers and was actually surprised. “She was fantastic.” She said with a smile and he nodded. He didn’t seem uncomfortable about the topic but she got the sense that it still hurt to talk about. 

“I met her on Palaven, she was painting a sunset and I got in her light.” He said and chuckled. “In some ways you are a lot like her but you’re more of a pain in the ass.”

Sidda laughed out loud to that. “I try.” She snickered and observed his body language. “What happened to her?”

This story wasn’t the clichéd tragedy that most people expected, it was nature. Cruel nature but he had accepted it to a point long ago but that didn’t mean he didn’t miss her. “She got sick about 15 years ago. Doctors tried everything but they couldn’t help her.”

“I’m sorry.” She offered quietly and he waved it off, he wasn’t looking for pity or comfort. He’d already accepted this and come to terms with it. He was telling her this for a different reason. Since his entire crew could connect the dots thanks to the rumors that spread like a brushfire he might as well tell the woman he now loved. His nerves made him get up and start pacing back and forth.

“You asked me why I said I couldn’t lose another.” He said and she nodded looking up at him, the words he used at the airlock when he made the unpopular decision to stick around long enough to save her, risking more than just the ship but the whole crew. “I couldn’t lose another mate.” He said bluntly and she paused in mid drink looking at him. He said mate. For a Turian that was as good as saying wife. 

Her heart beat faster and faster, she loved him more than anything else and hearing him say mate made her feel like a giddy little school girl again. “Mate?” she asked clearing her throat sounding more surprised than anything else.

He was the element of cool as he stopped and stood still looking down at her, Victus best quality was an impossible to read poker face. “I’ll never bond to someone else again. I can’t do that even after all this time, but I’ve become very, very fond of you. I love you.” He stated. “If you’ll have me…I want to be with you for however long it lasts.”

Sidda didn’t need to hear anything else. She’d found love in only one man, him. She put the glass down and got up quickly walking the few steps to him. “Until the day I die, Adrien.” She said barely able to contain it anymore and got close to his body putting her left hand on his chest and her right hand on his cheek stroking his mandible. Victus smiled and leaned his head forward touching her forehead.


	15. Octavia

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Fifteen: Octavia

 

Cerrus skittered back in order to avoid Desala’s attack. They’d been training regularly for a few weeks as Desala found that she really like training from the beyond grouchy Turian. Everyone had warned her about Cerrus’ foul mood that was normal for him but she’d found him to be quite easy to get along with and he was an excellent teacher. Desala was improving by leaps and bounds. She stayed with him as he tried to avoid her attacks planting her right foot into his abdomen with enough force to cause him to jump back and go down to one knee bracing himself with his right hand. Now he was at a disadvantage and Desala took it hitting him hard across the face with a punch. 

Cerrus growled. “Ouch.” He thought to himself tasting blood on his tongue. Desala backed off as the growling Turian got to his feet dabbing the blood away from his mouth with a finger. “Well done, Rekka.” He said noticing that she was ready for him to attack again.

Desala had never won a match against him without employing her biotics. That shouldn’t have happened. He’d been distracted for the last few days but she didn’t know why. “Where’s your head?” she asked and Cerrus’ gaze turned to a glower. 

“Excuse me, Lieutenant?” he asked, she failed to address him with the respect of his rank. He thought about that for a second. He never cared before so long as everyone knew who was boss, why did it piss him off now? 

“Sir, I’ve never beaten you before without biotics, you’ve been distracted for the past few sessions…” she stated and her tone took on a gentler form. “Are you okay?” she asked, her kindness to him a little refreshing for him. He spent most of his time on the ship pissing everyone off, for someone to take on a gentle almost sweet tone was new and, he had to admit, welcome.

Cerrus returned to his cold and angry façade. “I’m fine.” He said. “We’re done for today.” He stated and walked away quickly. 

**

Sidda scrolled through a message on her datapad, it was from Anderson. He commended her on her survival thus far and recommended that she start thinking about her next assignment. The position she was in, leaning on Victus’ chest with his left arm curled around her shoulder, was comfortable for her and if it was uncomfortable for him he said nothing. The fingers of his left hand gently raked through her hair. 

“Who’s that from?” he asked and she continued scrolling. 

“Anderson.” She replied. “Wants me to start thinking about my next assignment, personally…I want a very long leave.” She stated and heard Victus inhale a deep breath above her head.

“What is that scent?” he asked and she narrowed her eyes pausing her scrolling.

“Scent?” she asked a little confused by his out of the blue question.

“You’re hair.” He stated. “It always has this…unique smell. I like it.”

Sidda couldn’t help but smile and blush. “It’s my shampoo…the soap that cleans my hair.” She began. “It’s strawberry scented.” She informed but Victus had no idea what a strawberry was. “It’s a fruit on Earth.” As she explained that to him her stomach began to grumble, she groaned and plopped the datapad down on her lap. “Oh…strawberries…I can’t wait for strawberries, sweet, red goodness with chocolate and whipped cream.” That only furthered her craving. “Oh…whipped cream…” She was brought out of her ‘daydream’ by Victus chuckling to her grumbling stomach. “What? Don’t laugh. You try going a nearly a year eating nothing but low grade military rations.” She stated enjoying their banter. 

Victus laughed. “Oh, you just be happy you don’t have to eat our stuff…you’re not the only on in misery because of food.” He chuckled. 

The comm beeped. “General.” 

He tapped the button without getting up. “Go ahead, Zara.”

“Message coming in from Command.” She stated. 

He sighed and Sidda move off him so he could get up. “Alright, put it though here.” He stated and Sidda stood. 

“Okay, well I’m gonna go see how much trouble I can get in.” she stated as he headed over to the terminal. “You have a good day at work, Honey.” She added with a cackle that made Victus pause and look at her. 

She giggled to his expression of humor and annoyance. “Just go.” He chuckled.

Sidda kept up the game. “Oh, now is that any way to talk to your mate?” she teased and Victus narrowed his gaze and dropped his tone.

She was teasing him. She wasn’t his mate or at least not in the formal sense of the word. “It could be.” He purred returning her flirting with his own brand. 

Sidda felt herself tingle to his low purring tone. She sauntered toward him and lightly stroked his left mandible with her right hand. “Hmmm…I think that message can wait for a little while.”

Victus had to think about that…with his luck it would be Fedorian he put on hold while he had sex. While that amused him to some degree he thought it better to try to get out of Fedorian’s crosshairs rather than set up a camp. “Later.” He stated, painstakingly. He could smell her arousal…she was pretty easy to get going he gave her that. 

**

The mess hall was packed, that was normal. Like any other it was also noisy. Humans liked to think that the Turians were a completely alien culture but in reality they shared a lot of the same things when it came to society and friendships. They were just as humorous, competitive, and pleasant to be around as humans. Sidda found the table that normally consisted of Maridus, Nov, and herself occupied with nearly all of both teams. The only one absent aside from herself was Cerrus…no real surprise there.

“Hey!” Kalvaris called seeing Sidda walking up to them. “There she is…you want us to start calling you Mrs. Victus?”

Sidda cocked her head to the barefaced Turian who was across the table from Maridus and between Masso and Desala. “Will it get me a bigger measure of respect?” she asked and Kalvaris shook his head along with everyone else who was paying attention to the conversation. 

“Probably not.” He replied and Sidda cackled. 

“Then let’s just stick with Sidda then.” She stated and tapped Maridus’ left shoulder. He scooted to the right a little and then she tapped Nov’s right shoulder to get him to make room also. Nov said nothing and scooted over a few inches giving her enough room to sit down. 

Since neither Sidda nor Victus were trying to hide their relationship Nov decided to act as professional as possible. He’d never let his personal life interfere with his professional life and he wasn’t about to start now. That didn’t mean he was okay with the situation, he’d be crazy if he said he wasn’t jealous. He was. Very much so. Part of him wanted to fight Victus for her, part of him wanted to throttle Sidda, and the rest was him kicking himself in the ass for not speaking up. He couldn’t blame Sidda for anything since he didn’t tell her anything. He gave her his knife but didn’t tell her why which added to his frustration. All he needed to do was be honest with her but he decided against it and would have to live in his own misery. “Not eating this morning, Sid?”

It was the first time he’d spoken to her in a few days. Something was off and she could sense it but figured it was him just being moody again. “Have you seen the stuff I have to eat?” she asked cracking the running joke they all knew. “It smells like crap and I’d rather eat the package.”

Nov laughed and patted her back. “You’ve lasted this long on it.” He stated and thought about his hand touching her back. What the hell was happening to him? He had to figure out how to function normally around her. He removed his hand, grumbled inwardly and went back to eating as Sidda turned her attention to the teasing across the table from Masso. 

**

Victus grumbled loudly by the galaxy map terminal in the CIC. The message from Command was the tip of the iceberg. He dropped the datapad with his orders on it on the console and rubbed his face with both hands. A muffled growl was heard as he was fairly irritated. 

“You called, Sir?” Maridus asked coming up from behind him. Since the refueling station things had returned to normal somewhat. Maridus and Victus still had the lingering disagreement but it would pass as the situation was now in the past. Maridus just hoped that something like that wouldn’t happen again. If Victus kept his priorities straight for the next few months then there was nothing to worry about but given Sidda’s proclivity for getting into trouble he suspected that was going to be tough. He narrowed his eyes to Victus’ obviously irritated mood. 

Victus turned and handed him the datapad. “Take a look at that.” He stated and Maridus read it quickly. 

“An evaluation? Why?” he asked in the same tone that Victus had taken earlier while talking to command. “For who?”

“Command feels that given the amount of activity we’ve seen lately that it’s time for an observer to come and evaluate the ship.” He stated and Maridus remained confused. 

“Okay, they do know that we’re a part of the Council’s pet project, right?” he asked and Victus nodded with a sigh. 

“Yep and ordinarily this wouldn’t be a problem but look at who they are sending.” He stated and Maridus returned his attention to the pad tapping the button to scroll down.   
Maridus raised his brow plates and straightened his posture. 

“Oh…oh that’s not good. Why would they send her?” he asked and Victus shrugged. 

“Because Fedorian wants me…that’s why he sent her.” Victus stated with a sigh and Maridus shook his head.

“Sir, you don’t know that.” He said trying to be positive. 

“Don’t I?” he replied. “In the past year I’ve told him twice to fuck off, not in so many words, and I exposed Sidda to classified data and now I’ve brought a Cabal spy onboard. Not to mention whatever rumors have trickled back about…” he paused before finishing that sentence. He could honestly say he never thought about what the higher ups would think about a high value General and the human Hero of Elysium being romantically involved. “about Sidda.” He finished and shifted his weight growing more and more frustrated with each passing minute. 

“What are they gonna do? Pull you from the Lante?” Maridus asked trying to wrap his head around what could be a possible outcome.

He gave him a reluctant nod but the better possibility was breaking up his crew. “Or take my entire crew apart.” 

Maridus narrowed his expression. That would be ludicrous on Commands part. “Are you kidding? Aside from Blackwatch we’re the most decorated and skilled team in the whole damn military they can’t just take us apart.”

“That won’t happen here…not if I have anything to say about it. I’ve spent too much time putting this crew together I’m not gonna let her break it up and I’m sure as hell not going anywhere.” Victus stated and sighed, there was nothing he could do about this no matter how much he hated it. He never liked his crew messed with and, for the most part, Command usually left him and his crew alone. This had to be because of his current feud with Fedorian. Having Sidda aboard was a Council decision and Victus had just brought a Cabal into his crew. Given the content of the reports that had been filed he could agree that the Lante had seen its fair share of activity lately but nothing that would garner a visit from an observer…especially one named Octavia. “Alright, we’re meeting up with her transport in a few hours. Tell the crew, I’ll talk to Sidda…Octavia makes Cerrus look like a child’s toy.”

**

In Sidda’s quarters Victus informed her about what was going to happen when the observer came in, she listened and couldn’t help but think that this whole mess was because of her. “Is this because of me on Talas?” she asked, if it was her fault she felt really bad right now. 

The last thing Victus wanted was her to feel like all his problems were because of her. “No.” he answered quickly then thought about it. “Maybe…I don’t know.” He replied and Sidda chuckled. 

“Fedorian really doesn’t like you, does he?” she stated and Victus snorted. 

“No, he likes me well enough…I just happened to piss him off this time.” he stated. “I do things my way and I piss people off. My family’s been military since the Unification War. War is in my bones…but I don’t buy into the by the book methods the academy teaches. I care about those under my command but that kind of passion is misleading…makes me seem reckless when I’m anything but.” He said leaning on the locker to his right. 

Sidda allowed a smile looking him up and down. “I don’t think you’re reckless.” She stated and Victus snorted. 

“You are.” He replied and she laughed. 

“Alright, I get it.” She stated with a chuckle. “I’ll behave.” 

Victus stood up straight and looked down at her as she moved toward him. “You’re outside her grasp; your mission, your assignment…she can’t touch it but she can turn this ship inside out and make my life a living hell.”

Sidda put her arms around his waist standing close to him. “I’ll be extra good then.” She stated and Victus allowed a soft chuckle.

Maj. Pevera Octavia was an imposing figure, as a female Turain she was just as capable as the males. Her training made her extremely dangerous and she was one of the most decorated Turian officers in the military. She hadn’t advanced much past major due to her excessively ruthless outlook toward the galaxy. As a Special Operations officer there were few better than she was. 

Maridus was the usual welcoming party when important visitors came onboard, she was important. He stood properly with his hands behind his back and nodded to her as she stepped onto the ship from the airlock. She outranked him merely because she had been commissioned before him, Maridus rose through the ranks fast and she hit a wall. “Welcome to the Lante, Major.” He greeted giving her a salute and she took her time returning it. The arrogant air about her rubbed him the wrong way. She returned his salute and looked him up and down. “I’m Maj. Damar Maridus-…” he began and she cut to the chase.

“Take me to Gen. Victus, Major.” She said and he ceased talking, simply nodding. 

“Yes, Ma’am, follow me.” He stated biting back the grumble in his voice. 

As he led her through the ship he felt like he had a target on his back, he could feel her eyes on him and it made him uncomfortable. He had faith in Victus and the crew that everything was going to be fine but that fact that she was here was not a good sign for the ship and crew. She was effective in her job hence her status but Command was also smart enough to see that she would make a terrible General.

**

Victus turned as Maridus showed Octavia into his office. He’d never met her but knew her reputation; it was always interesting to see if the person looked like the reputation. When he looked Octavia up and down her appearance didn’t match but her cold expression did. She was short, around 5’8”, putting her at the same height and build as Ruvio. Her skin was grey with a bronze hue to it and green eyes. The displayed the markings of Magna, the light purple V from her chin to above her eyes. The same as his former mates, Miral was from Magna as well and he hadn’t been there in nearly 20 years. All in all she was very attractive but that was all a façade and he knew it. He looked to Maridus and gestured for him to leave with a simple nod. Maridus gladly accepted, something about that woman irked him. 

“Major.” He greeted his tone neither pleasant nor aggressive. Mostly indifferent, he was curious to see how this was going to play out. “You’ll have to excuse me, Major, but I’m not sure why you’re here.”

He was testing her, she knew it. Victus’ reputation and experience meant that he wasn’t easily fooled but she kept her to her story. “I am here because your reports to command as of late have alarmed them.” She stated. “I am here to evaluate various members of your crew and command.”

Victus saw right through her. She was there to evaluate him he was sure of it, there was no other reason why she would be the one that was sent. “Which crew members?” he asked and Octavia’s expression narrowed. 

“I prefer to keep that to myself so you don’t have the opportunity to warn any of them.” She stated and Victus had to commend her fearless, blunt, attitude but he still wanted to eject her from his ship as soon as possible. 

“I don’t appreciate having my integrity questioned, Major.” Victus warned. 

“Do not get in my way, General.” Octavia stated and her tone angered Victus. “Do not make the mistake of underestimating the power I wield.”

Victus resisted the urge to punch her right in the mouth for that. No one talked to him like that, he was a General…he may not have been the most popular general among the higher ups but he was respected. He stepped toward her, his glare narrowed to her. “Are you threatening me, Major?” he asked making sure the emphasis on her rank rang through.   
“I’m informing you, Sir.” She replied looking up at the now angry Victus. 

He was barely containing his anger. “Do your job and get the hell off my ship.” He growled. “You talk to me like that again and I will knock the arrogance right out of you, Major, is that clear?”

Octavia weighed her options against his reputation but didn’t apologize. “Yes, Sir.” She replied and Victus was still burning with anger. “I know your ship is part of a Council project involving a human crew member.”

Victus’ posture remained, reading his body language told her nothing as he became defensive the moment she tested him. “Why do you ask?”

“I’m curious, General; I’d like to speak with the human…this Cmdr. Shepard.” Octavia stated and the only answer Victus had for that was a huge resounding no.

“Shepard is no concern of yours. You have no authority over her; she answers to me and me alone while she’d under my command.” Victus stated, if Octavia met Sidda the end result would be explosive. Cerrus had the same attitude as she did only Octaiva was 100 times worse. Sidda would kill her or try to.

“I believe I made myself clear, General, I will speak to anyone under your command to evaluate the crew and your command. You yourself describe Shepard as ‘under your command’-…” she explained and Victus growled at the subordinate.

“You will not speak to Shepard; you have no authority over the Council’s project. You don’t like that then you can get the hell off.” He snapped with a growl, he was protecting Sidda from the pit viper that was Octavia.

**

Nov stared down at Sidda, studying her, wondering what her next move was going to be. He’d sparred with her enough to make reasonable guesses as to which maneuvers she favored in certain situations. The fact that her fighting had been honed by Victus gave him a bit more of an edge since he fought against Victus a lot. Sidda’s hand to hand experience sored to new heights on this ship; being trained by Victus, Nov, and trial by fire training through Cerrus she was now downright lethal. 

Nov’s reach exceeded her own and it was damn hard to stay the hell away from him. She moved close for an attack on his legs and got caught up in a chokehold with Nov’s right forearm across her throat. “Uh-oh…” he taunted in her ear. “Now you’re stuck…what are you gonna do now?” he asked as she struggled against him, of course to no avail since Nov could bench press her with one hand. Sidda fell into her training, human training, and attempted to break the hold by shifting her position and throwing him over her shoulder. A sound theory, unfortunately human techniques hadn’t proven effective against Turians. Sidda wriggled in Nov’s arms and found the leverage she needed to toss him over her shoulder. The toss became a flop and then a crash as Nov didn’t release her nor could she break his hold. They both crashed to the mat and Sidda yelped in pain as Nov fell on top of her with a grunt of his own. 

He braced himself up with his hands and looked down at her, he lingered for a few moments wishing he could take her right there but he cleared his head and got up reaching down to take her hand and pull her to her feet. “Somebody needs to work on their takedowns.” He stated and Sidda scoffed.

“Easy for you to say you’re 7 feet tall and weigh a ton.” She stated and rubbed her neck. “And you got a grip like a vice. Look at me…I’m just a little thing.”

Nov chuckled and moved toward her to show her a better way to bring down a Turian. “Well, every fight needs their speed bumps.” He sniped and gave him a sardonic glare. “Alright, let me show you.” He said and stood in front of her, considering her height barred her from putting him in the same position she was unless he was on his knees he simply went with the technique. “Remember I told you the best way to bring down a Turian?”

“Legs.” She answered and he nodded. 

“Same here.” He said and hand her put her arms around his waist to demonstrate the technique. He took her left wrist with his right hand and pulled it away from him and pivoted into her arm. “Pull the arm away with the opposite hand, turn in, sweep the legs from the back at the ankle or near the spur, put your other hand high on the chest and push back.” As he spoke he did everything and Sidda felt like she was going to fall to the mat but he caught her with his left arm placing it around her waist. “I gotcha.”

He let her stand up straight and she blushed, she had to admit he was attractive especially when they were sparring and loved that he flirted as much as he did. “Doesn’t help me very much…I couldn’t break your grip.” She stated and he presented her his left hand. 

“Go for the thumb. There’s a nerve cluster at the base.” He said and showed her where to put her fingers.

“Just like a human.” Sidda thought only in a slightly different place. She pinched, hard, to get though his tough but smooth skin and Nov almost went down to his knees. He let out a squawk, not a yelp or a grunt a squawk, it was a noise she’d never heard from him and it almost made her laugh. He had a feeling he was going to regret showing her that. She let him go at the sound of the squawk and he rubbed the spot with his other hand. “Sorry.”

“Yeah, just like that.” He stated and gestured for her stand in front of him again. She did so and he put her back in the position he had her in before. She performed every move he had instructed while talking her through it only was gentler with his hand. She controlled his decent as best as she could but he still landed with a thud. “Well done.” He stated looking into her hazel eyes. They lingered there for a moment which felt like an eternity to Nov. She pushed off from him and stood offering her hand as he did before, he took her hand and hauled him to his feet. 

Victus entered the training room with Octavia in tow. He wasn’t thrilled about this anyway and was even less thrilled when he saw Sidda there. He didn’t care about her training with Nov, oh no, it was Octavia that made him worry. He’d told Octavia to stay away from Sidda and here she was. He should have known she’d be training with Nov or would be wherever he was. They were like two inseparable buddies, partners in crime, the trio of mayhem if he added Maridus. He could see this encounter ending in a fight. 

He cursed a string of colorful metaphors in every language he knew under his breath. “Commander. Lieutenant.” He announced and they turned toward him still laughing about whatever joke Nov had just told. 

“Sir.” They both greeted but the lack of salute put Octavia off immediately. Victus ran a ship a little more relaxed than others. They all knew who was in charge and Victus had no qualms educating anyone who forgot.

“Lt. Nov, Cmdr. Shepard, this is Maj. Octavia.” He introduced. “The Observer.”

Sidda remembered the warning from Victus and immediately sized up the female Turian. She was only a little taller than Sidda but her air was the alarming factor. Smug. That was the only word needed. 

“Welcome aboard, Major.” Nov greeted in a respectful tone but that didn’t do it for Octavia. He had failed to salute. 

“You run a lax ship, General.” She stated. “You will follow protocol with me, Lieutenant.” 

Nov immediately identified his error and snapped to attention giving her the salute she was searching for. “My apologies, Major.” 

Sidda scoffed, loudly. Who the hell did this bitch think she was? “Don’t apologize, Cal.” She stated. “You show respect to the officers who deserve it.”

Nov raised his brow plates and saw Victus close his eyes and drop his head. 

“That didn’t take long.” Victus thought, this was going to be a long evaluation. 

Octavia turned her attention to Sidda but continued to circle Nov, sizing him up. This was one of them she wanted to meet, his reputation had preceded him as hell of an officer one of the finest in the military. He had been put in for a commendation primarily because of what happened on the weigh station where he lost Zek and Tobius. She sneered a little to his colony marking, Rylo, the problem child colony of the Empire. Words like oppression and exploitation often flew when Rylo was involved in a conversation.

“Cdr. Shepard.” She stated standing a few feet from her. “The so called Hero of Elysium.” 

“So called?” Sidda asked and Victus moved toward Sidda ready to break up and fight. 

“At ease, Nov.” he stated quietly as Octavia hadn’t done that. 

“I seem to remember being there and whipping all those Batarians.” Sidda continued as Octavia stood with both hands behind her back. 

“I don’t deny that you were there I just have a question about you being a hero, or any human being a hero. Such a weak species.” Octavia stated as Nov was ready to hide behind his hands. Even Cerrus knew Sidda could hang with the best of them.

“Weak?” Sidda asked. She’d learned to let comments like that roll off her back but this bitch was pushing her tolerance level a little hard. “We fought your people to a standstill during the First Contact War; you wanna tell me again which one of us is weak?”

Victus and Nov had to agree with her on that one. Victus knew first hand as he was there dodging the fire. The Alliance wasn’t as weak as those proclaimed it to be, every encounter he’d had during the war was met with heavy resistance and casualties on both sides. They never gave up even with the surrender of Shanxi, which was only a matter of time.

“Your people are cowards and will always be cowards.” Octavia hissed, it was hard to decide which one was picking this fight. “We should have ignored the Council and taken the fight to your homeworld and ended your diseased expansion quickly.” Victus moved over to Sidda and put an arm across her chest trying to direct her away from Octavia. 

Sidda’s patience was wearing razor thin, she thought Cerrus was racist against humans but this bitch took the cake. She pushed his hand away from her and stepped toward Octavia challenging her. “General, permission to beat the crap out of this bitch.” Sidda hissed her tone telling him how irritated she was and rightly so.

“Denied.” Victus stated and Sidda didn’t take her eyes off Octavia. “Commander, back off.”

Octavia looked at her like she was a disgusting thing. The smugness radiated off of her and pissed off Sidda by sheer principle. “You have some nerve for a human.” Octavia stated and Sidda decided right then and there it was time to take her down a notch…maybe.

“Well, then let’s test it, Major.” She snapped back with a growl and stern expression.

“Commander, I gave you an order, back off.” Victus warned in his ‘don’t fuck with me tone’, the one he used when trying to control his men. 

There was a tense moment as both Nov and Victus saw Sidda’s jaw clench as she stared down the Turian female. There was a hint of blue starting to appear in her right hand that was balled up into a fist. Sidda heard every word Victus said and also remembered that she had promised to behave. Getting into a fight with Octavia would make things worse for Victus so she relented. “Yes, Sir.” She answered in the same tone she used to threaten Octavia. 

“Dismissed, Commander.” He stated, defusing this situation meant that one of them had to leave and since he didn’t want Sidda involved with Octavia’s sinister plots that meant she had to go elsewhere. 

Octavia too had to control her own temper and her façade returned to the cold arrogance everyone was used to. She looked to Victus and now understood why he wanted to keep the two apart; she was brave there was no question there and for a human to defend Nov, a Turian, like that was nearly unheard of among Turians so she gave her respect where it was due. Octavia composed herself and turned back to Nov. “Now, Lieutenant lets speak about you.”

Nov was solid, standing proudly ready to become a target for whatever her mission was. “What do you want to know, Major?”

His military history was in his file and she pulled it apart already finding very little wrong with the young Lieutenant. “Your father was Tiber Nov is that right?” she asked and Victus’ glare deepened. What was personal for his crew remained there, so long as they did their job he didn’t care. 

“Unfortunately, yes, Major.” He replied and Victus remained silent, curious to see how his officer would handle the probe into his personal life. 

“Then you don’t share his views?” she asked and Nov shot her a look but not an angry one. 

“Sowing discontent within the colony because he believed we were being exploited and oppressed, trying to cause an uprising so we could secede? Absolutely not.” He stated firmly and that seemed to throw Octavia for a loop. “I hated my father and I am glad he’s dead.”

Even Victus raised his brow plates to Nov’s firm display about his dislike for his father. “Very well, Lieutenant.” She replied satisfied with that answer. “Tell me about the weigh station.”

Nov eyed her, he still didn’t like talking about that incident but he complied with her order.

**

Victus had been called to the CIC to deal with various things which left Octavia alone to roam the areas of the ship that she had access to. Victus refused to grant her full access so engineering, the CIC, and the War Room remained off limits. He was half expecting to find various members of his crew hiding in those restricted areas but to their credit they remained at their posts knowing full well that they were under a microscope. 

Octavia made her way through the corridor to the room marked ‘Armory’. The Lante was a magnificent ship with a rich history, named for the best frigate commander in the military. The oversized frigate had served primarily under Victus as the General refused to be promoted elsewhere when the topic was brought up. She entered the armory and found it spotless. Everything was in its place, someone maintained this arsenal well. The only figure in the room was the one who was always in the room, the one responsible for the upkeep, Cerrus. She recognized him and her gaze narrowed as if zeroing in on him. The Taetrus native was tall and attractive she had to admit that. 

Cerrus looked up from disassembled weapon in front of him, Ruvvak’s sniper rifle had misfired when he shot it last and Cerrus offered to take it apart and fix it. It gave him something to do that channeled his personal upheaval away from everyone else, gave him something else to focus on. He didn’t recognize the female before him and quickly deduced who it was. “What can I do for you, Major?” he asked.

Victus really didn’t enforce the salute on this ship since no one but Maridus did so. “You must be Capt. Cerrus.” She greeted, the tone of her voice and the body language she was conveying made Cerrus feel uneasy. This wasn’t going to be a friendly conversation. 

“I am.” He replied in his usual quiet voice returning to the weapon before him.

“You used to command Blackwatch.” She continued as she slowly walked around him eyeing him like someone would eye an animal to inspect it. 

Cerrus could see where this was heading. “Yes, Ma’am.” He replied stifling the sigh that came after. 

“You were the one who got his entire team killed.” She stated and Cerrus’ very short temper started its clock.

“Not everyone.” He replied, fighting this fire with sarcasm. “Rajin lived.”

Octavia stopped moving for a second to his comment and narrowed her gaze to him. “I’ve read your file, how did Victus word it… ‘vicious and unpredictable’. You’ve been stranded at the rank of captain for six years now. Tell me, Captain, do you command a team here?”

He stood up straight forgetting about his project for the time being, he was used to being dressed down for his turbulent past, but he was by no means carefree about this conversation. “I do.” He answered. “Centar.”

Octavia sneered. “Then I guess Victus doesn’t care about the lives of his men that he has placed in your incompetent hands.” Cerrus’ glare changed but he didn’t dignify her remark with a response. “Which begs the question…why does he have a coward like you onboard?”

Cerrus turned into her path with a cold glare. “Careful, Major,” he growled. “don’t forget, I am vicious and unpredictable…and I don’t care if I land in the Brig.”

“Are you threatening me, Captain?” she asked with a tone he wanted to knock the smugness out of. 

Cerrus controlled his temper and turned away from her attempting to return to Ruvvak’s rifle. “Take it how you wish, Major.”

Octavia’s expression didn’t change. “So you are a coward.” She stated and Cerrus’ mandibles clinched tight. “Just like that filthy Cabal bitch you called a mate.”

Cerrus spun quickly and punched Octavia in the mouth hard enough to knock her back on her ass. He stalked toward her and stood over her bending down to get into the superior officer’s face. “Do not ever mention my mate again.” He growled. “And that is a threat.” 

**

“You hit her!” Victus barked, shocked at Cerrus’ ability to do the worst thing at the worst time. “Care to explain why, Captain?” 

Cerrus sighed and shrugged adding to Victus’ irritation. If there was one person on this ship who could care less if he spent time in the brig it was Cerrus. “She had it coming.” He stated and Victus blinked at the simple albeit childish response. 

“You struck a superior officer and your explanation is ‘she had it coming’?” he clarified as he moved in front of the captain.

Cerrus couldn’t stop himself. “What were you expecting? Poetry?” he responded and Victus froze to the smartass remark. 

“One smartass on this ship is enough and you are not Nov.” he scolded. “While you are on this ship you will conduct yourself with the professionalism that is expected from an officer. Is that clear, Captain?”

Cerrus took the lashing. “Yes, Sir.” He stated and Victus backed away from him beginning to pace in his office. 

“So what happened?” he asked and Cerrus’ emotionless demeanor didn’t change. “I know you, Tyr, you don’t react like that unless you’re dealing Shepard or you say the wrong thing.” He said and Cerrus glanced down at the floor. “Blackwatch?” he asked.

“Part of it.” He replied quietly and Victus paused nodding to the only other thing that would set him off. 

“She brought up Anara.” Victus said and Cerrus gave him a single nod. The circumstances surrounding Anara’s death were shrouded in mystery. No one but Palaven Command knew exactly what happened during that op and that was the main reason Cerrus couldn’t move on from it. Talking about her was touchy subject no matter who it was and if Octavia had brought it up to use as an insult or to hold something over him it would most certainly make Cerrus strike the Primarch himself. Victus sighed and leaned against his desk. “Alright, officially I’m supposed to reprimand you so…do not do this again, Captain, or you will land in the Brig.” He stated and Cerrus gave him a nod as he received his punishment. “Unofficially, you should have taken her damn head off.” 

Cerrus snorted, he’d be lying if he said he didn’t think about that while he was standing over her and issuing his threat. “I’ll try to remember that.”

Victus counted his lucky stars that Cerrus didn’t lose his temper any further than just a pop in the face. “Dismissed.” He said and had to snicker to himself. Cerrus may have been a racist, hard to take, pain the ass but he was a hell of an officer no matter what anyone else told him.

**

Word spread faster than a wildfire about what Cerrus had done to Octavia, most weren’t really surprised and even Sidda said she wanted to kiss him for doing so to which the consensus among the crew was they’d pay to see that. After a heated, albeit one sided in Victus’ favor, argument with Victus as to why Cerrus was still roaming the ship with a slap on the wrists Octavia continued her so called evaluation. She wanted to speak with the Cabal, Desala, but the spy was very good at ducking her presence. As she entered the Rec Room she found a curious sight, the one barefaced Turian on the ship. By his file he was one of the best officers on the ship, highly commended and loyal. 

She cocked her head to him and approached. “Lt. Kalvaris, is it?” Octavia asked and he looked around the room to see if anyone else was there to witness this. He knew her reputation and Victus had warned the crew. 

“Yes, ma’am.” He replied and eyed her the way she was eyeing him.

Octavia was silent as she observed the barefaced Turian. He was lean, even for Turian but damn tough. His deep green eyes were a striking feature that most people noticed first. Not his bare face. Octavia was not most people. She was went straight for the stigma he’d bore his whole life. “Barefaced…where are you from, Lieutenant?” she asked, her tone was somewhat mild but there was something about her that he didn’t trust. 

“Thessia.” He replied in a quick, short tone. “Armali to be more precise.”

“Your parents didn’t have a colony?” she inquired, the smug tone showing through.

Kalvaris took a moment to answer, trying to decide how he was going to handle this. “I’m an orphan, Major.” He replied calmly. “I never knew my father and my mother died during child birth.” He finished and was now done with this conversation. 

“You were adopted?” she asked and Kalvaris nodded.

“Yes, Ma’am, by an Asari doctor and her mate.” He stated and asked the 65,000 credit question. “Can I ask why you’re interested, Major?”

Octavia’s prejudice didn’t stop with just race or species she had a problem with barefaced Turians as did a lot of others. Barefaced typically meant they couldn’t be trusted; they had no colony, no home to fight for. In most cases in recent years it simply meant that they were born outside Turian space on a ship or were orphaned like Kalvaris but sometimes it was traced clear back to the Unification War to those who refused to conform. “I’m just astonished by how many despicable, untrustworthy crew members that Victus has on his ship.” Kalvaris’ gaze narrowed to the insult. “First there’s the human, then the cowardly Capt. Cerrus, the Cabal, then you…the barefaced Turian raised by a civilization of whores.” Kalvaris didn’t even wait to be dismissed; if he stayed much longer he was going to break her neck so he began to walk out. “I haven’t dismissed you, Lieutenant.” 

That was an insult on top of insults; he paused and turned to look at her. He opened his mouth to speak but someone else spoke instead. 

“I have.” Maridus stated from the entrance. “Rik, you’re dismissed.” 

Kalvaris happily left patting the XO on the arm on the way by. 

“Maj. Maridus.” She stated, the drawback was she had nothing on Maridus. His record was a clean as they came. He was also not one to be messed with, if she tried to disparage the stellar officers name it would likely end badly for her. Maridus’ mother, Radha, was the top strategist in the entire military serving as a General on the same level as the Primarch and his father was also serving as an Infantry General for the ground forces which meant he answered only to the Primarch. If there was one person on the ship that was untouchable it wasn’t Victus it was him. Maridus was better connected than even the Primarch. 

“What gives you the right to come on this ship and talk to us the way you do? Kalvaris is one of the finest officers on this ship; I owe him my life as do countless others.” When she opened her mouth to speak he cut her off, he’d been waiting to do that since he met her. “You know what, never mind, I don’t care to know your pathetic fucking reasons. I know you’re here to report on Victus so I suggest you do that and leave your ‘beliefs’ out of it.” She again tried to speak but his glare and quick advance to stand inches from her shut her up. “Do what you came here to do, Octavia, and do it fairly because if I sense one hint of bias all I need is one call and you’ll be evaluating farmland on Invictus for the rest of your career.” He growled, the threat was unmistakable as was his sincerity. Maridus growled his peace and left quickly not caring about the zillion protocols and regulations he just shattered. 

**

Cerrus still wasn’t focused; too many things clogged his mind. This session of training with Desala was proceeding just as the previous one. Though he was unfocused he was still holding his own, Desala was tenacious and she didn’t give up. He liked that quality in her. She could fight but the object was to make her better. Make her a juggernaut that could last in any fight, as a Vanguard she was brutal on the battlefield but he was yet to see her in combat. At some points she reminded him of Anara. When he and his wife had sparred nine times out of ten she kicked his ass because she used her biotics no matter what. Desala was taller than Anara and built a little heavier but he couldn’t help but see his long lost love in the spy before him. 

As his mind wandered, picking apart the ways that Desala was both similar and different from Anara he found himself flat on his back with Desala straddling him, her face so close to his he could feel her hot and slightly fast breath. When she didn’t move from him Cerrus froze, locking eyes with her. Her eyes said it all; the seductive look on her face told him all he needed to know. She had pinned his arms down with her hands and had effectively trapped him. 

“You seem like you need to relax a little, Captain.” She stated in a purring tone as she dropped her mouth down to nuzzle the right side of his neck. Cerrus closed his eyes feeling the tickle of breath on his skin. It made him shiver. The last time he shivered like that was when Sidda came onto him on Oriso. “Oh, why did you have to remember that?” he thought to himself as Desala shifted her position over top of him to make contact. She moved her head to the other side of his neck releasing his right hand so she could trace a talon down the right side of his face. She nuzzled over the bandage on his neck as Cerrus placed his right hand on her waist. Desala let out a purr of approval and Cerrus blinked. What was he doing? In a rush his mind flooded again, she had gotten him to stop thinking for a moment and everything else melted away. Now, it was all back and he panicked.   
“No. No. Get off.” He snapped and roughly pushed her off him. Desala staggered back onto her ass as Cerrus scrambled to his feet and stormed out without a word now trying to clear his head again. 

Desala felt bad about the way she acted with Cerrus, to be shot down like that was disheartening and flat out embarrassing. She entered the locker room and found Rajin tending to her equipment, making sure her armor was in working order and generally cleaning out the old things she didn’t need inside her locker anymore. 

“Hey.” She greeted and Rajin looked over her shoulder nodding to her.

“Hey, what’s up?” she asked and Desala sighed. She was still a little confused over Cerrus’ behavior but felt that there was something below the surface that she didn’t know about. Something had to have happened for him to act the way he did. His perpetual scowl and cold attitude had softened for mere seconds and seemed like the attraction was mutual then he flipped the switch. 

“I wanted to ask you a question.” She began. “You’ve known Cerrus for a while, right?” she asked and Rajin nodded as she worked. 

“He was my CO when I was assigned to Blackwatch.” She stated and Desala cocked her head. 

He was the one that was in command of that mission. She’d heard about that but it was before her time so she didn’t have first-hand knowledge. A failure like that spread like wildfire through the military but she didn’t realize that he was that officer. “That was him?” she asked, more like a confirmation than an actual question and Rajin nodded. 

“Cerrus and I were the only ones to make it out of there alive.” She stated. “He saved me. A lot of others didn’t but I don’t blame him.”

Desala narrowed her eyes. The general rumor was that the Cerrus made a gigantic mistake that killed most of his team, the only ones left had to fight their way out, if that was the case why would Rajin not blame him for it? “Why not?” she asked, her tone was serious but not confrontational. She simply wanted information. 

Rajin sighed and stopped what she was doing, turning to Desala. “Okay, you’re new so I’ll tell you. The day before that mission Cerrus got word that his wife had been killed in combat.” She stated and Desala’s expression changed to surprise. “If you ask him, he’ll be the first to admit that he wanted to die on that mission and he didn’t care about the rest of us. I should blame him…but I don’t. He saved my life.”

Desala was impressed with Rajin’s loyalty; she still respected and believed in the person who put her in the situation that nearly killed her. That was a rare friend. “What happened to her?”

Rajin shrugged and leaned back onto the locker folding her arms across her chest. “Your guess is as good as his.” She replied. “He doesn’t know. Seven years ago Friday and he still has no clue. No one will tell him, it’s so classified and redacted that even Victus can’t find out.”

Now it made sense. She felt like a fool, embarrassed, and little ashamed of her actions toward a man who was so upside down emotionally. His nonverbal flirting and sparring were sending her signals that she interpreted as grounds for sexual contact but if he was flirting, with this new knowledge, it was probably unintentional. Now she felt like an idiot. “Maybe I can help.” She muttered and Rajin looked her up and down figuring out what her questions were all about. It wouldn’t be the first time someone was attracted to Cerrus. He tended to attract females like moths to a flame, maybe it was the cold attitude or maybe they just saw a wounded puppy in need of attention. Either way, she would bet money that it was going to end the same way the others did, quickly and in one short word from Cerrus. No. That being said, she actually hoped that Desala could help, if anyone could it was her as her Palaven Intelligence clearance was probably higher than Victus’. 

Victus temper flared after hearing all the crap that Octavia had been doing to his crew. The incident with Kalvaris set him off, luckily his first officer was fearless when he needed to be. He moved through the ship looking like a storm cloud, when he found her he was either gonna wring her neck or shove her out the airlock…both options sounded good. He found her in the corridor and grabbed her upper left arm firmly practically dragging her with him. “We need to talk, Major.” He growled.

“Get your hands off me!” She protested but his grip tightened as he rounded the corner and slapped the button for his office and rushed Octavia in giving her a sharp shove placing her right in his cross hairs. 

“You’re here for me so cut the act and get on with it.” He hissed.

“For you?” she asked and Victus took up his aggressive posture the crew was used to when he was pissed off. 

“Stop it!” he snapped loudly, his expression full of fire. “You don’t think I’ve noticed? You’re picking apart my command, going after my more ‘questionable’ crew members…Cerrus, Kalvaris, Nov, and Sidda.” Sidda wasn’t a member of his crew but he counted her as one. 

“Sidda.” Octavia stated as if trying to see how the informal name rolled off the tongue. “There it is.” Victus gave her semi puzzled expression, what the hell did that mean? “Do you honestly think you’ve been fooling your crew, General?” she asked and took a few bold steps toward him. “I smelled you all over her the moment I met her. It’s disgusting. The great Gen. Victus defeated by a human whore.” Victus’ clenched so tight you could hear them click. “You’ve lost perspective, General,” she continued, using his rank more like an insult. “you allowed a human access to highly classified material, you placed her in command of one of your teams, and entrusted her with tactically sensitive data. You allowed yourself to be…compromised by an agent of a former enemy military.” 

Victus kept his temper at bay, so far most of what she said was true but the undertone was rubbing him the wrong way. “Former.” He spat.

“There is no such thing as a ‘former’ enemy when military security is on the line!” she barked. “You have allowed your entire command to be compromised all so you can satisfied your need to be a rebel General and fuck a human! One whose parents fought and killed us 30 years ago.” Octavia’s sneer coupled with her words set him off.

“Do not forget who you’re talking to, Major!” Victus roared in Octavia’s face. It was one of the few times he’d ever raised his voice. “I have done no such thing. She had no access to our files and the ships security has remained intact! She’s nearly died to protect members of this crew and I don’t care if her parents fought in 314, so did I!” he yelled into her face and Octavia gave him a cool expression, trying to bully a General like him wasn’t going to work and she was learning that the hard way. “You haven’t fought a war a day in your life, Major, so I suggest you reevaluate your tone towards me. You will treat me with respect or I will throw you off this ship so you can be as self-important as you want to be in the vacuum of space. Do not fuck with me, Major, take your report back to Fedorian and tell him that if he wants me to summon me himself and not to send his ‘minion’ to challenge me. Is that clear?” Octavia’s cold, arrogant expression remained and fueled Victus’ temper that had boiled over. He grabbed her shoulders hard and shoved her back a few feet into the bulkhead with a heavy and probably painful thump as she had no armor on. “Is that clear, Major?!” he roared again bearing his teeth aggressively to the insubordinate subordinate’s last act of defiance against him. 

Victus was by no means kidding; she met her match in a General who didn’t fear the Primarch or the Hierarchy. He did his job and didn’t care if they disagreed with how he did it. “Yes, Sir.” She replied quickly finally submitting to him. He released her with a shove followed by a growl and stalked over to his desk hitting the comm button hard enough to damn near break it. 

“Maridus, contact the Verichel and prepare to dock…Maj. Octavia is leaving us.” He ordered and Maridus could hear the hostility in his commander’s voice, enough to know that he finally blew up and ended the charade. 

“Yes, Sir.” He replied and Victus released the button. 

“Now, get the hell off my ship, Major.” He ordered and Octavia straightened herself standing properly before him. 

“This won’t be the end of it.” She stated and Victus could have guessed that. “The Primarch will get my report and he won’t be satisfied.”

“Then I’ll deal with him, Major, and not you. Get out.” He rumbled.

**

Sidda was doing her turn in the Armory, helping maintain it with Cerrus, his mood more foul then ever but she attributed that to Octavia and whatever she had said to him to make him slug her. “So, is the General going to give you a medal?” she asked and Cerrus was vaguely paying attention to the human he couldn’t stand.

“What?” he snapped back sounding as irritated as he usually did, perhaps a little more.

“For slugging Octavia.” She clarified. “Half the ship wanted to belt her, me included.” She stated and looked over his shoulder while he worked on the heat sink in Ruvvak’s Punisher.  
“What do I care about what you wanted to do? It’s done and over with.” He snapped harshly and Sidda took a short step back from him raising her eyebrows.

“Wow, you are particularly bitchy today…PMS?” she sniped and he fired a glare at her, whatever PMS meant he took it as an insult. 

Cerrus growled in annoyance. “Maybe I don’t want to listen to your inane babbling about that bitch. She was on this ship because the…whatever it is you have with the General…and now she’s gone so leave me the hell alone.” He snapped with a hostile glower. 

“Okay, what the hell is your problem?” Sidda demanded finally losing her cool with Cerrus’ snappy attitude. 

“Nothing.” He snipped back and Sidda didn’t believe him. They normally didn’t get along but things had gotten a little better between then since the fiasco on Oriso. 

“Cerrus, I know you don’t like me but whatever’s bothering you…pick someone to talk to about it.” She stated and Cerrus glared at her. He grumbled and groaned but she was right. No one had done anything to him to make him angry it was simply the wrong time of the year for him. 

He hated it when she was right, spirits did he hate it when she was right. “Commander…” he grumbled out, annoyed. “I apologize.” Sidda eyed him, studying him noticing his uncomfortable body language. “It’s not you…this time…it’s just a bad…bad time of year for me.”

Sidda wasn’t stupid and put it together. “When?” she asked and he looked twice at her, sharply. 

She had figured it out; she’d dealt with him enough to understand what was bugging the seasoned Turian to the point of snapping at everyone. “Friday.” He replied almost relenting to her prodding. “Seven years ago.”

“I’m sorry.” She said and he for once didn’t snap at her. 

“Thank you.” He replied quietly.

Sidda had a choice here; she could leave him alone or try to get him to talk about it. By doing the latter she took her life in her to own hands. She hadn’t gambled in a while and rolled the dice. “Tell me about her.”

To her surprise Cerrus didn’t react like she thought he would to the personal inquiry. “You’re a lot like she was.” He stated after a good pause. “Only she was less irritating.” He added and Sidda rolled her eyes and Cerrus smiled inwardly at his ability to irritate the hell out of her. 

“How’d you meet?” she asked trying to go somewhere she’d never gone before and have a friendly conversation with Cerrus.

There was the glare. Cerrus gave her a glare reflecting how irritated he was becoming. “I met her on Garvug. I was running support for her teams operation.” He said as she shimmied up onto the gun bench he wasn’t using. “The minute I met her I loved her…I didn’t even know her name.” he said and she actually heard him crack a soft chuckle. “Cabal units use codenames. Took me a week to track down her name and send her a message.”

“What happened to her?” she asked and Cerrus leaned against the gun bench she was sitting on and folded his arms across his chest. She heard him heave a sign and look at the floor. 

“Well, there’s the funny part.” He stated, in tone changing to one wrought with deep emotional pain. “I don’t know.” He finished. “It’s extremely well classified…I’ve asked everyone…I even had Victus put a personal request into the Primarch but still nothing.” There was a long pause as Sidda could feel the pain radiating off him. This explained a lot about him, why he was so grouchy all the time. “I don’t know how she died, where she died, if she was alone…if she suffered…” he stated and Sidda saw his guard drop completely. There was a fraction of a second where he was completely vulnerable but it didn’t last long. He stood up sharply and glowered down at her. “Why am I telling you this?”

Sidda blinked at the complete 180 he pulled. “Because I’m listening.”

Cerrus blinked and broke his glare looking away from her. “I don’t even know how to act anymore around people.” He stated with a snort, disgusted and irritated with himself at his display with Desala earlier. “Someone I actually like threw herself at me today and I panicked…it’s been so long I didn’t know what to do.” Cerrus was ready to strangle himself for telling her all this. Sidda of all people. He could have picked someone he actually liked like Rajin or Nov or Kalvaris but no…he had to open the verbal flood gates with her.

Sidda’s eyes narrowed to that comment. “What? Who?” she asked and he shot her a look that she expected, the ‘I am not telling you’ glower that translated across species. Then the rest dawned on her. “Wait, have you been with anyone since…” her sentence stopped abruptly by Cerrus’. He had looked away from her but knew where she was going with that question and deemed that far too personal a question for her to ask. 

“After everything I’ve told you that’s all you take away from it?” he snapped as his warm sunny demeanor surfaced again and his posture changed to aggressive. 

“My, God, will you relax?” she scolded and Cerrus straightened. “Look, I’ve never been married. I don’t know what it’s like to lose someone like that and not have the closure but you’re…you’re allowed to feel and you’re allowed to take some measure of happiness even if it isn’t who you want.” She stated and Cerrus had to admit she was dead on. She was right, people had told him that over the years but he refused to listen, he had no real idea why it sounded different coming from her. “If you like whoever that was…give it a shot.”

Cerrus had spent so long being closed off emotionally and socially that it was strange to feel something again. Yes, he had been adopted, kicking and screaming, into the circle of friends on the Lante so he had a forced social life. Over the years that softened him up and bit but the truly painful one was the emotional damage. Losing Anara shattered him and he’d be the first to admit that. Since Anara he’d only ever slept with one person and that was four years ago. He was very drunk and honestly couldn’t remember her name. He remembered what she looked like but that was because she had the same eyes as Anara. That was a night he really wasn’t proud of and only furthered his reclusiveness. Desala being so forward was refreshing but his reaction disgusted him. 

Sidda studied him as he turned away from her and tried to go back to want he was doing. Cerrus needed a break. Not from work but from his own demons. “I can take care of this if you wanna go.” She stated and he paused from his work mulling it over. He really wanted to be left alone. That was his permanent state in life, alone, but oddly enough, Sidda’s concern for him made him feel a little less alone in the world. She didn’t expect him to sing her any favors but he took her up on the offer and turned toward the door to leave pausing long enough to say something he’d only said to her once or twice. 

“Thank you, Commander.” He stated and Sidda offered him a friendly smile. 

“Anytime.” She replied as he left with a sharp nod. 

**

After the wildly surprising conversation with Cerrus, Sidda wanted to check on Victus, it had been a long day for him and stressful for others in certain ways. Octavia’s presence was like a black cloud that turned the ship upside down. Victus took the brunt but she hadn’t seen or heard from him since the training room. On her way to his quarters it was like her wish was granted when she saw him walking toward her. His paced slowed when he saw her, Octavia’s words ringing in his head. Did their relationship really look like how she had described to the outside observer? If this had involved the Hierarchy it could be really bad for him career wise as much as he didn’t want to admit that. They had no business in his personal life and he was going to stick with that however her words succeeded in planting seeds of doubt. 

“Hey,” she greeted with a smile. He like that smile, so sweet and friendly and her voice, like music to his ears. “are you okay?” she asked and he nodded sharply. 

“I’m fine.” He replied presenting himself like a solider and not her lover. He was colder and unsure which raised flags in Sidda’s mind. Something was wrong. 

“Liar.” She stated. “What’s wrong?” she asked putting a hand on his arm causing him to take a step back from her. 

“What are you doing?” part of him thought. “you just attempted to torpedo your career defending her.” Rather than trying to answer that question and endure the puzzled expression on her face he moved past her. 

“Wait…Adrien.” She called and broke into a jog to cut him off making him stop sharply. “What is wrong?”

He grumbled to her persistence. “Look, Sid…I…” he stammered and now grumbled to his inability to spit out a sentence. “I’m fine…” he stated and gently placed his hand on her shoulders. “Just…not now.”

Sidda narrowed her eyes to his behavior as he moved passed her and to the door to his quarters. She heard the door open and spun quickly to jump inside before the door closed. “Oh, no.” she stated surprising him by suddenly appearing behind him. “Start talking, what is up with you?”

Victus was growling now. “Spirits, you are stubborn.”

Sidda took that as a compliment. “Yep.” She replied gleefully. “Now something is bothering you so tell me.”

Fine, if she wanted to know then so be it. “That whole thing was about us.” He blurted. “They think you’ve compromised me. My command, my judgment.” He said and she let her brow furrow a little. “They think I’m fraternizing with you to satisfy my ‘need to rebel’.” He stated as she watched him pace.

“Are you?” she asked and he abruptly stopped moving shooting her a look that she’d never forget, a mix of offense, hurt, and angry. He lingered for a moment before taking a few long strides toward her and stopping short inches from her face. Her eyes remained locked with his as he looked into her amber eyes. 

He wouldn’t have defended her so valiantly if it were just a careless fling between them. “No.” he answered, his flanged deep voice ringing through her bones. “I sleep with you because…” he trailed off and traced the talons of his right hand down her cheek and then to her shoulder almost caressing it. “because I love you.” He meant it the first time he said it and he still meant it now. Sidda smiled to him and put her hand on his sides pulling her toward him so her body pressed against his. Victus took in her intoxicating scent as she triggered everything primal in him. It had to be something in her levo biology but he’d never been so aroused by a female in his entire life. All he needed to do was smell Sidda and that was it. He purred running his talons down her shoulders. “You are easy to please.” He stated and Sidda giggled. 

**

Cerrus had closed his eyes to finally go to sleep when his door beeped, indifferent about what time it was or who it was he stood and opened the door. “Lieutenant.” He stated rather surprised to see Desala at his door. 

“I don’t mean to disturb you, Sir, but can I come in?” she asked and Cerrus nodded after a second not sure what he was expecting. 

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable earlier.” She stated as he stood like a coiled spring. “So tense.” Desala thought. “Does he ever relax?” She made a quick turn in his quarters simply surveying her surroundings…there wasn’t much to see. He had a few personal items visible but that was it. “Deliah told me what happened to your mate.” She began and Cerrus didn’t move he just listened. “She also told me that you’ve gotten the run around from Command about the details. So I took the liberty of using my clearance and my contacts at PCI to see what I could find.” Desala finished and handed him a data pad.

Cerrus blinked, surprised by what she was implying. Did she find something? Was she saying what he thought she was saying? Questions flooded his mind as he took the datapad from her. 

“It’s not much but it’s something.” She stated. “Anara Cerrus, maiden name V’Aros, callsign: Gallion, born 2149 on Chatti.” She stated as Cerrus gazed at the pad, she found the right person and there wasn’t much on the datapad but it was more than he’d found in the past 7 years. “Died on Tuchanka...2176.” 

Cerrus felt himself go numb. Up until now the only information he had was that she died on a mission the same week his Blackwatch mission went south. She died on Tuchanka…what was she doing on Tuchanka? Now he had a bunch of new questions that may never be answered. 

“To be perfectly honest, Captain, I like you…and I’m very, very sorry if I overstepped my place but I didn’t know.” She said making her final apology about her behavior. “I hope that gives you some closure.” 

Cerrus heard every word coming from her, he was astonished and more than grateful but it occurred to him that he had said nothing beyond ‘Lieutenant’ since she arrived in his quarters. Now she was turning to leave. “Rekka.” He stated making her stop and turn back toward him. “Call me Tyr.”

Desala looked him up and down as he held the pad with both hands showing her how precious that small amount of information was to him. She couldn’t imagine the 6 years of hell he’d had to endure because the Hierarchy refused to tell him whatever their big secret was. “Tyr.” She said softly, gently. 

He stated setting it down behind him on the bunk then clasping his hands in front of him. “I apologize for my behavior earlier…it’s been a long time since…” he began but trailed off not wanted to get into that. “Well…I…uhh…I don’t think I can thank you enough for this, but if you’re patient with me I’d like to try.” He said taking the leap that Sidda suggested. 

Desala felt butterflies in her stomach and looked him up and down. He was even more attractive to her now. “Be ready to spar in the morning, Tyr, you never know what might happen.” She purred as she tapped the button to leave his quarters. 

Cerrus snorted and let out a breath as he turned to the pad on the bed that contained more information then he’d found in seven years.


	16. The Rescue of Nihlus Kryik

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Very, very proud of this chapter. It took me a long time to write it but I figured with the introduction to Nihlus to Sidda this early I wanted a defining moment not just Sidda and everyone's favorite Spectre but for all of them. I love this chapter and I hope you all enjoy it also.

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Sixteen: The Rescue of Nihlus Kryik

 

Nihlus couldn’t wait to get back to the Citadel; he was tired and had enough of slogging around on some Batarian hell hole that was so hot that even he could barely stand it. He achieved his goal and successfully ‘acquired’ the data the Council wanted. Batarian security was always a bit shabby and he couldn’t help but notice how often he was covertly deployed to the Batarian space. The Council had gotten word through the Spectre grapevine about highly experimental and potentially dangerous weapons of mass destruction that the Batarians were constructing. His job was to go in and ‘acquire’ the data, quietly since if he was discovered it could mean lots of trouble for the Council. Nihlus was the Spectre they usually sent on missions like this since he was like a ghost when it came to covert ops.

He sat at the helm of the small ship he had commandeered almost a year ago and yawned. Sleeping in his own bed was going to be a welcome thing and he was looking forward to some R&R, he honestly couldn’t remember the last time he had a day off that wasn’t attached to a layover while preparing for another mission. He was definitely going to take some time off after this. He yawned and rubbed his eyes, he had an hour left of running quietly until he could use the Core to jump home. This was what he was used to, it wasn’t fast but it was covert since the bad guys would have to step on him to know where he was. 

An alarm went off on the console to the right of his hands with a corresponding flashing light. “Proximity alert. Approaching vessel, starboard aft.” The female VI voice stated and Nihlus narrowed his eyes looking over the incoming data. 

“Identify.” He ordered the computer as he looked at the silhouette the computer was giving him. 

“Batarian destroyer-interceptor.” The VI answered. 

“Fuck.” Nihlus cursed quietly. 

“Unknown vessel, you are in violation of Hegemony space. Stop now and prepare to be boarded.” A Batarian voice ordered and Nihlus cursed a second time.

His veneer of calm returned even though his mission’s escape was starting to unravel. “Batarian Vessel, this is a Council vessel, allow me to pass.”

“Stop now and prepare to be boarded or you will be fired upon.” The Batarian destroyer replied and Nihlus had a really bad feeling about this. If he engaged the core the destroyer would read the power spike and destroy him where he was and he was absolutely no match for the brutal warship. 

Nihlus didn’t have a choice and complied with the order. If he allowed them to search the ship and invoked his Spectre authority he could be on his way as soon as they were finished. Batarians weren’t stupid enough to take on the Council by detaining one of their Spectres who had full authority to go wherever he pleased. But Saren had trained him to be prepared; this could go just as wrong just as fast. He powered down the engine and allowed them to reel his ship in the docking cradle. “Prepare to transmit sensitive data and current coordinates on Spectre frequency, four minute delay. Upon completion send automated distress signal and wipe the memory core.” He ordered the computer, hopefully none of that was needed but once again he had a bad feeling about this. 

The small ship shook as the cradle connected and he made sure his weapons were within reach, all of them. The shotgun he carried and the several hundred pistols that would make the most enthusiastic of gun bunnies jealous were all hidden but accessible by those who knew where to look. Right now, in the cockpit, he was in arms reach of four different weapons not including the ones he had on him. He stood as the airlock cycled through and faced the boarding party. Four Batarians stepped onto his ship, all of them armed and sporting the Hegemony uniform. That answered some of his questions, they were indeed military, and his hopes started to flicker. This wasn’t a normal shakedown, he could feel that.

“Name.” the lead Batarian ordered standing face to face with the taller Turian.

“You first.” Nihlus countered, he stood with both hands behind his back; a respectful stance until you saw what was in his hands. He could take out four without sustaining too much damage. He calculated he wouldn’t get out of it without being shot at least once but he could do it. He’d rather not, but he could.

“Maj. Verrl.” He answered quickly with a tone like he was giving him the benefit of the doubt. “Name.” he repeated. Verrl was tall for a Batarian, arounf 6’3” or 6’4” making him slightly shorter than he was. He had a tan complexion that had a brindle pattern to it. Unlike most Batarians he’d had to deal with Verrl seemed to have a shred of common sense but he still got a bad vibe from him. Whoever Verrl was he was indeed an enemy. 

“Nihlus Kryik, Spectre authority 1179 Eclipse, you are ordered under the Council Treaties to let me go.” He stated flexing the power he wielded. 

Verrl seemed to just ignore his words although he heard everything. “Search the ship.” He said turned toward his men and Nihlus gripped the pistol behind his back.  
“Why?” he asked his tone firm. 

Verrl eyed him, the Turian was ready and he could see that. Once the word ‘spectre’ left his lips Verrl knew this was a whole new ball game. Bringing a Spectre down was a bit like wrangling a Thresher Maw, given enough time and ammo you could do it and the whole galaxy knew the name Nihlus Kryik, he was the best spectre of them all next to his mentor and legend Saren Arterius. What worked against Nihlus was the enclosed space and no cover. It worked against Verrl and his men also and neutralized their superior numbers. All in all, if a shootout took place it was going to get really sticky really fast. Verrl made these calculations and deductions and he could see the wheels spinning in Nihlus’ head as well. “Because you stole from us, Spectre Kryik.”

Nihlus’ poker face never wavered. He’d spent a great deal of time learning to be a liar and spy and knew how not to tip his hand. “Stole what?”

“Don’t play the fool, it doesn’t suit you.” Verrl stated quietly. “We have evidence that it was you…you slipped up forgot to cover your tracks.”

Nihlus cursed a string of choice phrases about the Batarians’ lineage but kept his exterior calm. “I invoke Spectre authority, release me at once.” He tried but knew the Batarians answer was going to a resounding no. He quickly choreographed the next several moments in his head. He’d fire at Verrl first, one shot to the head then he’d take out the one behind him. His shields would be able to take one maybe two hits judging by the weapons they were carrying. He had a little cover to his right; he’d be able to take the other two down before things got too bad. 

“Nihlus Kryik, you are under arrest for Espionage and theft of Hegemony property.” Verrl stated and Nihlus drew like a lighting strike. Verrl deflected the pistol way from his head and Nihlus shot into the ceiling. Verrl tried to trap the Turian’s arm but Nihlus walked into him and elbowed him hard in the mouth causing him to bounce off the hull. Another shot was fired but not from him, the solider behind Verrl fired taking Nihlus’ shields down in one shot. Nihlus cursed at the ammo modifications that obliterated his shields on contact. He fired at that one, a clean head shot but Verrl wasn’t finished. 

Nihlus was knocked into the wall by a hard hit as his attention was brought back to the more dangerous adversary, Verrl. He brought his weapon to bear on him and Nihlus kicked it away firing another shot at the Batarian, but Verrl scampered out of the way and Nihlus missed again. He moved to line up another shot but was tackled by one of the other soldiers that came with Verrl. Nihlus and the Batarian landed in a heap in the door to the cockpit and his weapon clattered away from him. They wrestled on the floor for a moment until Nihlus drew the small knife from the gauntlet and drove it into the Batarians left upper eye and straight into his brain. He could hear the other two coming to join them and tossed the body of the one he’d just killed onto them. It flattened the soldier but Verrl was still loose. This was his problem, Verrl. He had training, lots of training and damn he was good. Nihlus grabbed the shotgun off the back of the chair and went to fire. Verrl rushed him once again deflecting the shot elsewhere; this time the engineering console took the hit and exploded. 

They struggled for control of his shotgun, a battle of pure strength that was more like give and take. Nihlus backed the Major into the bulkhead and wrenched the shotgun away from him but earned a staggering punch to the mouth for his trouble. His peripheral vision caught movement but he didn’t catch it until it was too late. A rifle butt hit him right in the left side of the head hard enough to send him sprawling, dazed from the hit. Pain seared through his senses as he slowly tried to get up. 

Verrl took the rifle from his subordinate and stepped over the dazed Turian and hit him again in the same place, then again and again. The last hit connected square in the face causing his nose to release a flood of blood and Nihlus’ world went black. 

“Easy Sir, didn’t you say we need him alive.” The soldier said and Verrl scoffed shoving the rifle back into his subordinate’s chest.

“Turians are tougher than that.” He stated. “Get more men over here and search this ship, I want that data found, and get him in restraints. He goes to Ihm’shal, the Hegemony can come get him from there.”

Sidda had heard the ship’s general alert before but this was a little different. Over the intercom she had heard the summoning of Nov, Cerrus, and herself so she rode the elevator up to the CIC with Cerrus. 

“What the hell is going on?” Cerrus muttered and she grunted a response as they made their way toward Victus. “Sir.” Cerrus announced and Victus turned toward him. 

Victus turned toward them, the CIC was buzzing like crazy. Maridus was hovering over Ruvio and issuing orders to various members of the crew before heading back toward Victus. “Secured.”

“Zara, prep for a jump. You two, War Room.” He replied looking over at Cerrus and Sidda. They looked at each other and Cerrus gestured for her to walk first. 

**

The War Room was slowly filling up with people, when Sidda and Cerrus entered they found Nov already waiting. 

“Alright, anyone’s free guess as to what the hell is going on.” Nov stated and Sidda snorted.

“So what do I get if I win?” she asked and Cerrus observed the flirting going on. 

Nov played her game and leaned on the table. “An all-expense paid trip to where ever it is we’re going.” He replied and Sidda chuckled. 

“You’re such a charmer, Nov.” she stated and Cerrus rolled his eyes. 

Victus walked in with Maridus talking about various things, key words that were heard hinted that they had been tapped for an emergency mission. Something somewhere didn’t go as planned and sometime during the night they got the call. Victus scanned the room quickly and handed the datapad he was carrying back to Maridus. He counted all the people he wanted to see and gave Sidda a quick glance as he walked by. 

“Damar, are we set?” Victus asked and Maridus tapped a key on the table.

“Yes, Sir.” He answered and Victus turned his attention to his ground team leaders. Technically only Cerrus and Sidda were needed but he always included Nov as he was the permanent leader of Argo. Sidda never questioned his inclusion on meetings as Nov had never second guessed her in the field and neither did the rest of the squad. 

“Jump to Vendabar complete, Adrien.” Ruvio said over the comm as Sidda, Cerrus, and Nov looked at each other than to Victus and Maridus all wondering what the hell was going on. 

“Very well, Zara, thank you.” He said and looked at them.

“Sir, what is going on?” Nov asked and Victus tapped the holo key on the console. 

“Last night communications intercepted a distress call on a Council frequency.” He said. “We sent it up the chain and were contacted by Councilor Sparatus. Nihlus Kryik was on a mission for the Citadel in Batarian space something went awry and now Nihlus is being held captive by the Hegemony. Now, in the comm burst we intercepted were coordinates to where he was captured from. A few hours later, the Spectres tracked him to the planet Ihm’shal. We have been requested by the Council to conduct an extraction.” He explained and looked at Sidda. “Cdr. Shepard, you’ve been granted temporary Citadel clearance. Captain, this is all the information the Citadel has sent us on the location. I want a preliminary assessment and extraction plan in one hour.”

Cerrus took the datapad and nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

**

Nihlus couldn’t help but let out a whimper of pain as his eyes opened. His vision was blurry, his head hurt, and he was pretty sure his nose was broken. The last thing he remembered was a rifle butt to the side of his head and vaguely remembered seeing Verrl standing over him. After that things got fuzzy. He blinked trying to clear his vision and look around. He was bound to a chair, hands behind his back and feet bound to the legs of the chair, magnetic locks by the feel of them. That was going to be a problem to get around. He was out of his armor and just in the grey underclothes he wore meaning all his hidden weapons were wherever his armor was along with his omni-tool. Blood had collected in his mouth and he spit the glob of blue stuff out onto the deck. Judging by his surroundings he was in a holding cell but it didn’t feel like he was on a ship. There was no engine hum, no subtle feel of movement; no…he was on a planet somewhere. Just how long had he been out? 

The door opened and Verrl stepped in, he observed the Turian and started to walk around him. Judging him, his demeanor, and his wounds, anything he could exploit. There was no good reason to believe the Turian would break under any circumstances but he was under orders. “You’re tough, I’ll give you that.” He stated and Nihlus didn’t respond he just watched him, doing the same thing Verrl was doing. “You killed two of my men bringing you in…but then again I should have known that considering I could have brought an entire army against you and you would have still killed some of us before falling.”

Nihlus’ interrogation training took over. Not one peep that was their training. Never give anything to the enemy no matter how minor or unrelated. The humans called it ‘name, rank, and serial number’ but Turians didn’t even give that. You’d have to kill them to get any answers from them. He had already tried to invoke his credentials and that didn’t work so now he waited, either for the execution or a rescue. The rescue would only come if the ships VI did its job, he honestly didn’t know how long he struggled with the Batarians but hopefully it was close to four minutes. Saren wouldn’t leave him out here in Batarian hands. His fellow Spectre, recruiter, and mentor would tear a hole through the galaxy to get him back. Hopefully. Until then he had a far better chance of being executed by the Hegemony, he wondered what he had done to get caught. He covered every track but Verrl said he missed something, that’s how they found him. 

“The Hegemony tells me they want you alive.” Verrl continued and then stopped in front of him. “But by the time we’re done with you, you’re going to wish you were dead.” He threatened and Nihlus steeled his resolve, this was going to hurt. “We searched your ship and found the memory core wiped. Where’s the data you stole?” Nihlus knew then, all he had to do was hang on, a rescue was coming. 

He didn’t answer and this wasn’t the first time Verrl had interrogated a Turian. They were tough and nearly impossible to break and that was just a garden variety solider not an elite Spectre. He punched him across the jaw but heard nothing out of the Turian. Nihlus felt the pain but he took it and prepared for more, Verrl was far from finished. “Where is it?” he asked again and again Nihlus didn’t respond. Another hit, lower on his left mandible causing excruciating pain to course through his face, still not a peep, another hit followed and Nihlus felt the left side of his face swell more. He wished Verrl would go after the right for a while and contemplated saying that. Defiance like that was fine but as he had been on the other side of this he knew that once a prisoner starts talking it’s easier to keep them talking. It may start as defiance but eventually they break. 

**

Cerrus and Sidda stayed in the War Room to plan while Nov left to brief the other members of the team. Everyone who knew Nihlus were surprised that he had been captured, apparently the second best Spectre in the galaxy wasn’t infallible. 

Sidda didn’t want to bug Cerrus but she wanted to offer any help she could. Odds were that Cerrus would be more irritated by her presence than anything else and that would be counterproductive to the task at hand. “You really think you can do this in an hour?” she asked and Cerrus studied the information. 

Cerrus didn’t look up; he just kept going over the information on the base from the Spectres. “Commander, give me 15 minutes and I’m great. Imagine what I can do in an hour.” He stated and Sidda snorted. 

“You need any help?” she asked and he shook his head sharply. “Alright, I’ll leave you alone.”

After she left he became enveloped in what he was doing. Cerrus stood over the table in the War Room studying the information he had been given. Victus knew that Cerrus was a gifted strategist despite the obvious failure of his Blackwatch mission. He never doubted him and since he’d been onboard none of his missions failed, they’d been skewed some and things got a little hairy but none of them had failed. 

“Hey,” Desala greeted joining him at his side. “I have a gift for you.”

Cerrus looked down at her seeing the datapad she was carrying. “Do you?” he played and Desala allowed a giggle. 

“Benefits to having access to a spy.” She stated handing him the pad. “Everything Palaven Intelligence has on the Batarian base on Ihm’shal.” She said and Cerrus tapped the screen scrolling through it. “The base on Ihm’shal used to be top secret but has since declined after they got their asses kicked in the Blitz. The Batarians pulled back afterward but they’ve maintained a presence.”

Cerrus looked over the information and found every piece of information he needed to plan the extraction. “Is all this up to date?” he asked and Desala nodded.

“Five hours ago.” She replied and Cerrus paused looked down at her with a snort. 

“You are dangerous.” He stated and Desala chuckled.

“There’s more.” She stated and Cerrus eyed her. “Location where Kryik is being held inside the base.”

This like a wet dream for him, Desala had given him everything he needed and then some. She was more dangerous than anyone he’d met just because of all the information she had access to. “You know, about 10 years ago I’d have had you on this table about 30 seconds ago.”

Desala giggled and patted his arm. “Well, the day is still young, Tyr.” She flirted back but Cerrus at this point was all talk, she knew he wouldn’t follow through though it was fun to banter with him. “Do you need any help?”

In all honesty his answer was no but the more time he spent with her the more he liked her so even if he didn’t need her help he still wanted her company. “Sure.” He replied and returned his attention to the operation. 

After an hour of getting nowhere with Nihlus, Verrl gave his hands a break. Hitting a Turian was like hitting a bulkhead; they were truly made of metal. He had other ways of getting Turians and Quarians to talk. The Dextro minority had one major weakness, levo based items. Verrl had killed a Quarian with this technique, that was the toughest Quarian he’d ever come across, but still Turians were tougher; he’d have to see how the Spectre would handle his next method of interrogation. 

Verrl watched Nihlus though the security camera and thought about how to get the Spectre to talk. A Turian would be hard enough to break and Spectre even harder but he had the impossible task of breaking Nihlus Kryik. 

“He’s not going to break.” Sgt. Ashok said and Verrl didn’t move from his position. 

“He’ll break.” Verrl replied quietly. “No one lasts forever.”

“Are you kidding me? He’s Nihlus Fucking Kryik…even injured if he gets loose he’ll tear this base in half before we can stop him.” Ashok stated and Verrl scoffed. 

“He won’t get loose. Those restraints are magnetic, even if we lose power he won’t get loose.” Verrl said but Ashok’s worries were not sated. 

“The longer he’s here the better chance he has that the Council or the Turians send a rescue, just kill him and be done with it.” Ashok suggested and Verrl turned to look at him. He could understand the worry but wasn’t worried himself. 

“He’s more valuable alive.” He said and Ashok scoffed.

“He’s more dangerous alive.” Ashok added and Verrl looked over at him with a quiet but irritated glare which was enough to shut him up. Verrl continued to stare at the monitor at the Spectre thinking. Ashok huffed and thought about how to be helpful. “We could go in there and start removing parts of him.”

Verrl was growing irritated by the subordinate but let it go. “He’d expect that and we’d never get anything out of him except maybe a scream…no…no…something else is going to be needed to break him.”

**

An hour later Cerrus finished his task, he wasn’t kidding when he said that if he had 15 minutes he was great but with an hour he was fantastic. He had a brilliant mind for strategy and knew how to plan out everything from a covert op to a panty raid. He was meticulous with details but could plan on the fly if things went ass up. He presented his plan to Victus 45 minutes from when he started planning and Victus was pleased with the basics; he knew Cerrus would tweak it and refine it before the final briefing. After Victus gave his blessing Cerrus spoke with Nov in great detail about his part in the mission, Nov’s engineering skills were going to make or break the covert aspect of the operation. He also spoke to Ruvvak, the sergeant’s skill with explosives eclipsed everyone else onboard including his own and, not to pat himself on the back, he was fairly good at blowing things up. Ruvvak’s input on what kind of explosives to take and what heavy weapons would best benefit the mission were invaluable. 

Victus wanted Nihlus out of that facility yesterday, leaving out the fact that Nihlus was a former member of his crew he was also an elite Spectre with knowledge of Council and Turian business. He didn’t care why Nihlus was in Batarian space his main goal was to extract him and he was going to send his best to do so. 

The teams gathered in the War Room, arranged around the table. Cerrus stood with at the table adjusting the holo image of his plan as the teams settled in. Sidda grunted as Ruvvak moved over next to her and proceeded to use her as a leaning post placing his right elbow and nearly all his weight on her shoulder. 

“You’re a convenient height you know that, Commander?” he stated and Sidda chuckled as Nov joined on the other side of her copying the sergeant’s movement.

“Isn’t she?” Nov stated and Sidda chuckled again. 

“Ha ha, guys.” She stated as they were content to stay like that.

Victus scanned the room as he entered to make sure everyone was present including Maridus. He noticed Sidda being used as something to lean on by Ruvvak and Nov and shook his head. The territorial side of him didn’t like that but if Sidda didn’t want them to do that she would have told them. She and Nov had formed the strongest bond out of all of them, even him. They were friends and better than that they respected each other, for two highly trained officers from such different sides of the spectrum their mutual respect spoke volumes of their friendship. “Captain?” He questioned and Cerrus nodded to him ready to begin his briefing. Nov and Ruvvak stood up straight and dwarfed Sidda’s small human frame between them. 

“I’m going use both teams. Thanks to Desala’s up to date information we have a detailed map of the facility as well as where they are holding Nihlus. At any given time the facility is relatively lightly guarded but since bringing a Spectre in as a prisoner they’ve garrisoned it some. According to information from Palaven Intelligence and the Spectres there’s between 20 and 30 personnel in the facility. Four teams of two will have specific tasks, the object is to covertly enter the base and extract Nihlus from his cell here. Desala and Kalvaris will target the bases security grid, knock it out but leave the power alone. Nov will hack the security grid, bypassing it with one of his programs, any door you and the Commander can’t open with brute force you bypass it. You two are the extraction team. Rajin and I will be stationed at the egress point to make sure you have a clear exit and back you up if you need it. Masso, Ruvvak, I want you two outside at the main entrance. Maintain a safe distance undercover with some heavy artillery and throw a little party for the guys inside if things go backwards for us.” He stated as the teams, Maridus, and Victus listened to his briefing. “Do not go loud unless ordered, understood? Now, because of the terrain there is only one suitable LZ. We will drop in far enough away so as not to be seen and slip into the base. Extraction will be here. Sergeant, Lieutenant, your sole purpose aside from throwing that party is to make sure that that LZ stays ours. Ruvvak, carry a sniper load out, I will do the same.” He said and Ruvvak gave him a sharp nod. “Questions?”

“Any sign of AA guns?” Balin asked, he was the primary pilot and Pelonis was the gunship. 

“Not according to Intelligence.” Cerrus replied and Balin scoffed.

“So probably.” He retorted and Desala glowered at him.

“Hey.” She snipped and Cerrus held up one had to silence them.

“If we spot AA Guns we’ll take them out. Anything else?” Cerrus answered and Sidda piped up.

“Back up plan in case we all get pinched?” she asked and Cerrus looked to Victus. 

“Your objective is to extract Nihlus, if you can’t do that covertly then do it loudly.” Victus said and Sidda gave a slight nod. The Council really wanted their Spectre back if that was the case. “Back up plan is us…we’ll come and get you if we have to.” 

Sidda was satisfied with his answer and started to think of the worst scenarios, she’d already been cornered by an overwhelming number of Batarians and wasn’t too keen on being a prisoner if things went sideways. She had complete faith in Cerrus’ leadership and Victus’ back up. 

“We deploy in two hours.” Cerrus stated. “Gear up and be on the hanger deck.”

Victus recognized that to be the end of the briefing and looked to the rest. “Dismissed.” He said and the teams filed out leaving Maridus to stare at the holographic projection of the base’s layout. 

“Sir,” he began and Victus turned his attention to the Palaven native. “permission to join-…”

Victus cut him off knowing how that sentence was going to end. “Denied.” He answered quickly and Maridus grumbled his irritation. 

“Sir.” He protested. “Nihlus is my friend; I want to be there to pull him out.”

“No.” Victus replied but only furthered his first officer’s frustration.

“General-…” he continued to protest and Victus shot him a glare.

“I said no and I mean it, Major, you’re not going I need you here.” He scolded firmly. He could understand why he wanted to be a part of the mission but Cerrus had enough men to pull it off. “If Cerrus needed the help he would have said so.” He stated and read the distress on Maridus’ face. “Nihlus is a friend to all of us…you think I don’t want to be out there to get him out? I need you right here in case we need to back them up because Nihlus is coming home, no matter what.”

Maridus still wanted to be on the ground not on the ship but challenging Victus for the third time wasn’t going to do anything but piss his commander off and get him into trouble so he relented, grudgingly, but he relented. 

**

Just because Verrl wasn’t in the room didn’t mean that Nihlus’ interrogation was on hold. He spent 20 minutes going through the same treatment that Verrl had given him until he gave up on the silent Turian. Nihlus knew how much he could take but wondered about Verrl’s patience, the Batarian was uncharacteristically patient and very good at his job. He had to be Special Forces of some kind, no average soldier would have been able to bring him down the way he did. 

The cuts on his face were seeping blood again and his nose was bleeding again. He was alone in the cell and allowed some pain to show through as he spit out a mouthful of blood. The door opened and he groaned, inwardly. “Here we go again.” He thought to himself. He knew how much he could take yes but his jaw felt like it was gonna unhinge. Verrl stepped in looking calm and collected as he usually did. 

“Tell me what I want to know.” He stated taking a long drag off the cigarette he was working on. Nihlus responded by spitting more blood out of his mouth then sat proudly with a firm gaze. His resolve was still solid and Verrl sighed, breaking him was going to take some doing. “Understand that there are more ways to get you to talk than trying to beat it out of you.” He said and moved around behind him taking another drag on the smoke but he didn’t let his words sink in too far before wrenching Nihlus’ head to the right and put the cigarette out in the soft flesh of his neck. 

Nihlus growled to the burning and Verrl let him go when the cigarette was extinguished, he moved around in front of him and caught Nihlus’ fierce glare. Once he got free he was going to remove that bastards head with his bare hands.

 

Nihlus tested the magnetic restraints; he tried to find weaknesses in them but since they were magnetic odds are he wouldn’t find any. The Batarians were prepared, holding a Turian required something more than just chains. He’d gotten used to the pain in his face but every time he changed his expression or moved his head to fast he felt pain from everything he’d been hit by in the past few hours. He could deal with the pain as opposed to a bullet to the head which he was sure would be at the end of this little rainbow unless someone came and got him. 

The door to the cell opened and Verrl entered with two others. Nihlus paused momentarily from arguing with the restraints binding his arms but then went back to messing with them unbothered by Verrl’s entrance.

“I wouldn’t bother, Spectre Kryik.” Verrl stated but Nihlus ignored him. “I do hope you’re feeling more cooperative this time.”

Nihlus stopped what he was doing but still said nothing to the Batarian interrogator; he eyed the three of them and noticed that Verrl had brought a silver canister the size of a water bottle. Drugs, probably, he could resist drugs to a point but there was only so much he could do to fight chemistry but something told him that whatever was in that canister wasn’t drugs. Verrl wasn’t the type to go for such an obvious move. 

“Who gave you the order to conduct your mission? Which Councilor?” he asked and Nihlus remained silent as Verrl expected. Nihlus was proving to be a tough nut to crack. Verrl grunted and moved further into the room tossing the canister back and forth between his hands. “You know for as tough as your people are you have one major weakness, your DNA. Now, I have had great success with this technique in the past.” He explained and Nihlus simply listened. “I first tried this on a human. A soldier we captured and turned into a slave, humans are so frail and weak…the anaphylaxis killed him within minutes…same thing happened to the rest I tried it on. Next was a Quarian…now he was tough. Weakened immune system or no he was a tough bastard…a lot like you.” Verrl continued and Nihlus was trying to figure out exactly what he was going to do to him. No matter the answer he wasn’t going to like it. “I’ve perfected the technique and my, my does it work. I’ve learned that I can keep a Turian alive for quite a while, but the pain is agony…so I’m told.”

Nihlus watched him examine the canister like he was looking at a masterpiece. He narrowed his eyes wondering what he was getting at. He had made the mistake of underestimating Verrl on his ship and that was nearly a fatal error so he was prepared for just about anything from the Major.

“You’re going to tell me everything I want to know or you’re going to die; slowly, painfully, and eventually.” He said and gestured to the other two men to move around and restrain Nihlus more for the hell that was about to happen. Verrl opened the canister and Nihlus’ suspicions were confirmed and he was fucked with a capital F. “This is solid levo amino acid material, if ingested by a dextro like you it can kill you or at the very least make you painfully sick. Who gave the order? Who sent you to the steal our data?”

Nihlus started to panic but hid it as well as he could, this just might kill him. When he didn’t answer Verrl nodded for the other two to continue. One stood behind him and tried to pull his head back so Verrl could pour the vile liquid down his throat. He wrenched his head back so the other could pry his mouth open but Nihlus resisted…violently. He struggled against the one holding his head and felt the magnetic restraints start to cut into his flesh. He knocked his head back and hit the Batarian behind him square in the mouth with his horn crest bloodying his face instantly. He earned a punch to the face for that from the other one. The tender, already injured face immediately started to bleed again dazing him again because of the pain. Verrl was amused at the trouble his men were having subduing an already restrained and injured Spectre. Nihlus wasn’t going down without a fight and clamped his mouth shut as the one he bloodied yanked his head back as far as he could without breaking his neck. 

Verrl had enough of watching the Turian win against his men and got involved. Nihlus let out an involuntary bark of pain as Verrl grabbed his right mandible and started to twist it. Once he opened his mouth Verrl poured the concentrated levo material down his throat. Nihlus gargled and coughed as he fought against the three of them. A growl followed a cough making it sound more like a roar. Verrl removed the canister when he poured the last of it down Nihlus’ throat and watched the Turian argue with it. He tried to spit it out but his head was held back and a hand clamped over his mouth preventing him. Verrl took a step back and watched him fight the two who were holding him and covering his mouth, after a moment he was satisfied and gestured for the others to let him go. 

Nihlus shot forward tried to wretch it out, within minutes he started to feel the reaction. His body started to tingle and he knew it was only going to get worse as his body tried to digest the foreign matter. This was bad, very, very bad. Verrl was a sadistic bastard and he was looking forward to skinning him alive.

“Tell me what I want to know or you die a slow and painful death.” Verrl said watching Nihlus start to shake, the reaction was happening fast.

“I thought you said the Hegemony wanted me alive.” He said betraying his training.

Verrl allowed a smile; finally he got him to talk. “They do but here’s the thing, you can suffer and maybe die but I have this.” He said holding up a syringe filled with a light blue liquid. “I give you this injection and you live, but if you don’t tell me what I want to know I’ll give you this injection and we can do this all over again until you decide to talk but maybe next time the injection doesn’t work. So you have a choice, Spectre Kryik, you can tell me what I want to know or you can gamble with your existence. I wonder how well your resolve will hold up when you’re sick and delirious.”

Nihlus cursed under his breath, his breathing increased due to the allergic reaction working its way through his body. “Fuck you.” He snarled.

Verrl sighed and resigned himself to watching the Spectre suffer for a while, he excused the other two and simply leaned against the wall watching Nihlus spiral downward. 10 minutes later the Turian had gotten progressively worse, his breathing was rapid and labored and the majority of his body was tingling or numb, his stomach turned and he threw up what he could. 

“Who sent you and why?” Verrl asked calmly but Nihlus retained the defiant streak and said nothing. More minutes passed as Nihlus’ condition worsened. He was shaking, his pulse was racing, and he could barely breathe. He was wheezing as he breathed as his air passages were starting to close. Verrl approached the dwindling Turian and knelt down next to him. “Tell me what I want to know and it all ends, Nihlus.”

Nihlus was still silent through his growing delirium and labored breathing but Verrl watched the defiant Spectre struggle. He fought against the restraints and suddenly couldn’t breathe. He gasped for air and Verrl stood watching him. “Tell me what I want to know.” He said again but caught Nihlus’ defiant stare even through the thralls of suffocation. Verrl grumbled in irritation pulling the syringe and burying the needle the right side of his neck injecting the medication into him. “We’ll start again in an hour.” He grumbled and left the cell. 

The hanger deck was busy, people scurried around making sure the drop ships were ready and everyone was accounted for with the proper load outs and ammo. Sidda adjusted her sentry interface and blinked a few times to bring everything in focus. 

“So, how exactly does the best Spectre in the galaxy get captured?” Nov asked and Kalvaris scoffed.

“Saren Arterius is the best Spectre in the galaxy, Nihlus is the second best.” He said and Nov snorted shaking his head at the nuance. 

“Second best to Saren Arterius…my question still stands.” Nov replied. 

“Oh, let’s ask him when we find him.” Sidda said Nov chuckled. 

He stepped up into Argo’s drop ship as the rest of the teams followed suit. “Yeah, I can’t wait to hear that explanation.” Nov stated as Cerrus was the last of the team members to step up into the drop ship.

“Captain,” Victus said stopping him. “make no mistake, I want Nihlus out of there and I don’t care if you have to step over that entire base to do it.” He stated and Cerrus gave him and understanding nod.

“I’ll wipe that facility off the map if I have to, Sir.” He replied and Victus was satisfied and walked away leaving his teams to do their work.

**

Cerrus lucked out with an aspect of his plan that he couldn’t control. The planet was in its new moon cycle and was so dark it was hard to see even for the Turians. The flora on the planet reminded Nov of the jungle where they ran from the overgrown lizard but the wildlife seemed a little more docile this time. Aside from the thick vegetation the heat was worse, Sidda felt like she was breathing from the bottom of a pool the humidity was so thick.

Ruvvak had taken point carefully and quietly making his way towards the base based on the directions he’d studied. The Turians used night vision visors to help them move around but Nov wasn’t able to fit Sidda with one that didn’t give her a headache and her sentry interface was built to make her armor more efficient not detect heat or serve as a vision enhancer. He found a good spot for he and Masso to set up shop, it was an elevated position with a perfect view of the gate and a fallen tree for cover. It was like a dream, he and his sniper rifle or a heavy weapon could do a lot of damage from this vantage. 

“Oh yeah,” he muttered. “this’ll do nicely.”

Cerrus stayed low and moved up to Ruvvak, he was satisfied with the site but not as much as Ruvvak obviously was. “Alright, Vhel, Linus…” he began.

“We’ll plan out a nice little party for them up here, Sir.” Masso stated and Ruvvak surveyed the gate then ducked down behind the fallen tree after seeing something he really hoped he wouldn’t see two turrets on either side of the gate. 

“Lt. Desala,” he began. “why do those look like AA Guns?” he asked and everyone looked over the fallen tree to see what he was talking about. 

Desala grumbled, if they were AA Guns they weren’t in the intelligence PCI sent her. “What are you gonna do, fire me?” she snipped.

“Balin might.” He replied with a snort.

“They look more like missile turrets, actually.” Cerrus stated turned to Ruvvak. “You two take care of the turrets.” He said to Masso and Ruvvak then looked to Kalvaris. “We go on your signal whenever you are ready.”

As the teams dispersed to literally go their separate ways Masso looked to Ruvvak who was fishing around in his ordinance pack. “Well, Linus…feel like being a menace?” he asked and the Demolitionist chuckled. 

“I’ll be back.” He replied and snuck off into the darkness to plant some explosives. A heavy weapon would do the trick in taking out the turrets but he had a better idea, if he could throw well enough.

Cerrus’ party moved as quietly as possible down through the brush, he knew where they needed to be and aside from Ihm’shal’s rough terrain it was relatively easy to get to. The Turians could see but Sidda was trying not to trip over stuff and give their position away. 

“Jesus, I can’t see shit.” She cursed quietly as she nearly tripped over an exposed tree root.

Nov snorted to her. “Once again, the superiority of Turians is proven. Better night vision.” He needled and put his hand on her back as if to guide her.

Sidda grumbled at his shot at her. “Oh, shut up, Nov.” she hissed sounding rather irritated. 

“How about both of you shut up.” Cerrus put in, his grouchy tone ending any and all conversation. 

**

Since the base was both old and never meant to be top secret it had plenty of weaknesses that could be exploited. The main power junction was located outside the main facility but the Batarians recognized their weakness and did their best to secure it, and that was exactly what Kalvaris and Desala found. They’d crept around without much fuss, so far the personnel count of 20 or 30 was dead on, everyone else must be inside. 

They found cover and waited, surveying the area, they counted three guards. They were lax in their post but well-armed, two had assault rifles and one had a shotgun.  
Unfortunately, Desala’s information showed only one way into the power junction and it was through those three. Getting around them covertly was going to be interesting, the two with assault rifles had their weapons ready but the one with the shotgun didn’t. The assault rifles needed to go first as Kalvaris was sure he could kill the other one before he drew. They had to be sure and quiet since they were the ones that got to kick off this little shindig, once they took these guards out they were on the clock. They would be missed at some point.

The darkness was their best friend at the moment as it concealed their movement and for as big as Kalvaris was he was quiet as a church mouse. As the more experienced of the two he assumed the burden of taking out the two closer to each other, leaving the third for Desala. It was fortuitous that one with an assault rifle was near the one with the shotgun. He had to sever the spinal cord to stop the impulse to the brain and prevent a muscle that could set off a shot. A knife to the back of the neck or simply breaking the neck would do nicely and his Talon was long enough and sharp enough to go through the neck and cut the spine if he placed it in the right position. 

The two Turians crept around in the shadows as they snuck up to take the three by surprise. The two Kalvaris targeted were bullshitting and not really paying attention but the third was keeping an eye on his surroundings. Desala grabbed the Batarian twice her size from behind and sank her knife into the back of his neck severing the spine as Kalvaris snatched up his assault rifle target breaking his neck in seconds and true to his abilities went after the fairly surprised third one. Kalvaris sank his Talon through the front of the Batarian’s throat and the blade protruded through the back of his neck succeeding in severing the spinal cord as needed. 

They had successfully taken out all three without making a sound, now they were on the clock. Desala turned to the door and used the Omni-gel to hack the door open. The two of them entered and carefully swept the area making sure there were no more surprises they might fall into. 

“Clear.” Kalvaris stated and Desala started hunting for the box she needed that Nov had shown her. 

**

Cerrus and Rajin posted themselves on either side of the exterior door that they were meant to go in. Sidda found it odd that there were no security cameras on the exterior.  
“Power to the security measures: offline.” Desala’s voice said through the comm. 

“Awesome.” Nov replied and went to work on their way in. He was a truly gifted engineer and had created a hack that would trick the security system into thinking that everything was still okay. It wouldn’t last forever but it would last long enough. 

When it opened they headed into the base, so far so good. “Be waiting when you get back.” Rajin stated and Nov spared her a look and a nod. 

Desala wasn’t kidding when she said that the base on Ihm’shal had declined. It was more like defunct. It was run down and the walls looked like the color of rust. Honestly, it looked like every other Batarian facility military or otherwise she’d been in. They moved together on opposite sides of the corridor as Nov followed the map from Desala’s intelligence and at every door they came to, he input the hack. So far, so good, they hadn’t run across any base personnel.

The further they went into the base the more dangerous it got; they had more of a chance of running into someone, getting caught, or blowing the covert action all to hell. They reached the end of the line and ran into an issue. Sidda peered around the corner and saw the entrance to the Detention area; it was guarded by two men. She leaned back around the wall and looked at Nov who gave her a simple gesture to get the one closest to her and he’d grab the other one. Sidda indicated with her fingers to go on three and he nodded as she counted down. Nov jumped out from around the corner moving faster than Sidda had ever seen. He rushed the one furthest away and sprang at him like a velociraptor impacting the Batarian so hard he knocked him over and allowed Nov to quickly break his neck. Sidda allowed her knife to do her talking. It was the first time she’d used Nov’s gift in combat, the weapon felt good in her hands, not too big and clunky. The Batarian caught her movement and turned toward her bringing his weapon up but she went straight for the rifle twisting it from his grip before he could get off a shot, swept his legs from under him and covered his mouth as she sank the blade through his right lower eye and into his brain. It wasn’t as impressive a display as Nov’s but he was still impressed by her abilities. He allowed his mind to wander a little as he watched her prowess; she was stunning that was for sure. 

“Make me proud, Casanova.” She stated and hugged the wall, they were exposed now, and he needed to get that door open so they could gain access to Nihlus. They were in the homestretch, everything just needed to keep going well for them and they’d have Nihlus out in a jiffy. 

This door was harder to crack, better security, he could blow through it with omni-gel but that would defeat the purpose of his hack and so far it had worked like a dream. Sidda watched diligently for someone to coming walking around that corner, if they did she had a chance of nailing them with biotics fast enough to prevent them from sounding an alarm, if she let one slip they would go get help and then they would have to fight their way out with Nihlus in whatever condition he was in. Desala’s information better be right about the Hegemony wanting him alive because if he was dead Victus would nuke the base from orbit. Period. 

“Sometime soon, Cal.” She said quietly and Nov heard the comment but said nothing, even he was starting to worry. Maybe the security was better than he thought or maybe he over estimated his own talent. 

“Come on, you antiquated piece of Batarian shit.” He grumbled so low that Sidda almost couldn’t hear him. The door beeped and the locks gave way. This room did have cameras and he gestured for Sidda to wait as he took care of them inputting the same hack on them that the doors had effectively tricking them into seeing a clear room. Nov scanned the room as it opened and found it clear as he turned quickly and helped Sidda drag the two bodies out of sight. After Sidda moved over to the monitors and tapped the one they needed. 

“Number one.” She announced quietly as Nov went to work on secured door. This one might take a while; it was bound to have the same security as the main door if not better. 

**

Kalvaris and Desala finished hiding the bodies in the junction room and were ready to head out to meet up with Ruvvak and Masso and wait for the rest. They didn’t say anything as Kalvaris opened the door to leave. As soon as the door opened he was surprised by a Batarian walking in looking for one of the guards that should have been outside. Kalvaris reacted as did the Batarian, a Turian was the last person he expected to see there since the one that they had was currently locked away in the holding cell. He went for his weapon but Kalvaris stopped him yanking him into the room struggling with him along the way. He managed to wrestle his pistol loose as he clattered to the floor but the Batarian activated his Omni-tool firing off an overload blast, Kalvaris managed to dodge that but the blast hit the boxes and cables behind him and spread across the wall causing a brilliant display of sparks. It occurred to Kalvaris to cover his mouth so he didn’t call for help and quickly broke his neck ending the fight in less than 30 seconds. He was good at his job there was no doubt about that.

When the Batarian fell Desala turned her attention to the damaged caused by the overload. “Fuck.” She cursed.

Sidda was impressed; Nov’s engineering skills were more impressive than even she thought. So far nothing on this base had provided him with a challenge. She performed the same task as she had throughout; she watched his back as he did his work. 

The base went dark and the door system that Nov was in the middle of hacking went black.

“Uh-oh.” Nov commented and Sidda turned her attention to him. 

“What?” she asked and Nov tapped the door several times. He looked up sharply as the backup power for the lights kicked on but the door was still dead.

“No power.” He stated. “Damnit.” He cursed and tapped his comm. “Captain, we got a problem. I think Desala did her job a little too well, power to the doors is cut, and I can’t hack them.”

Sidda kept watch as the sentry but spared a few looks at the cell door. It wasn’t as big as a blast door but she’s been in enough brigs and holding cells to know a heavy door when she saw it; the access to cell was going to be one of the most secure doors of the base no matter how defunct. “We’re gonna need to blow it.” She stated and Nov agreed. 

Nov examined the door and then trotted over to the monitor to see how big the room was and where Nihlus was in relation. “Tyr, we’re gonna need a shape charge…a very precise shape charge.” He replied and heard Cerrus over the comm.

Cerrus grumbled quietly and weighed his options, they were almost there and right now was where he had predicted things would go wrong and as expected his cynicism didn’t disappoint. “Alright, stand by…I’m on my way up.” he said and looked down at Rajin. “Stay here, I’m going back there.”

Rajin didn’t question and kept her position guarding their escape route.

The power loss to the base caused a stir and Ruvvak was seeing a lot of activity and they were all heading to the junction room that Kalvaris and Desala were trying to get away from. Ruvvak looked to Masso and their shared expression said it all. 

“Time to go off book.” Masso stated and Ruvvak readied his sniper rifle.

Kalvaris and Desala were now in evasion mode. They drew attention when the power went out now every Batarian and their brother was heading towards them. Darkness only helped a little as lights that weren’t on before did their best to take away the Turian’s advantage. 

“Sir, we got surprised.” Kalvaris stated into the comm. “Overload hit the power box, sorry, Sir.” He finished as Cerrus reached Nov and Sidda’s location stepping over the bodies on his way in and immediately going to work on the cell door.

“Copy.” Cerrus replied quickly and worked quickly. “Pull back to team four.” 

“Do you need assistance?” Kalvaris asked but Cerrus answered quickly like he did before. 

“Negative. Pull back.” He stated as Nov and Sidda guarded him watching for bad guys.

Minutes ticked by as Cerrus carefully placed the explosive in such a way that it would damage the lock on the door but not kill Nihlus in the process, but it seemed to be taking too long. Someone was bound to come and check on the Detention area especially after a power outage, the guards also would have had a check in point after something like that. The whole idea was making Sidda very nervous.

“You gonna be done with that charge anytime soon?” Sidda asked and Nov looked at her with an expression she couldn’t read. It was either an ‘I’d shut up if I were you’ or an ‘Are you fucking crazy?’ look but she couldn’t tell which.

“Do you want me to blow my hand off?” Cerrus growled back as he continued his work, not fazed by her prodding.

“No, I want you to blow that door open sometime before the middle of next week.” She fired back at him and Nov shook his head. It was about time, honestly, they’d gone nearly the entire mission without bickering…he was beginning to think they actually liked each other. 

Cerrus grumbled but kept himself focused. “Are you seriously rushing a demolitionist?” he demanded.

“Yes, I suppose I am. Now hurry the hell up.” She replied and Nov rolled his eyes with a huff.

“Mr. and Mrs. Cerrus, do you mind?” he interjected trying to get them to stop bitching at each other so they could finish the rescue.

**

Desala and Kalvaris moved quickly and quietly around the building, so far everything had gone nicely, to a point. They had evaded the Batarians to almost get to their destination, no alarm had been raised, they hadn’t found the bodies yet but that was only a matter of time. There had been no need for guns and hopefully it stayed that way. Kalvaris was leading and they were nearly back the way they came and he edged around the corner carefully. He could see the turrets on his visor and the path they took down.  
“Linus, can you cover us?” Desala asked as Ruvvak shifted his position slightly. 

“I gotcha. Be careful, there’s a lot more lights on now. Everyone’s heading toward the junction room. Watchtower has a spotlight.” Ruvvak informed and Kalvaris nodded looking back to Desala. 

He saw them start to come around the corner then saw a patrol coming from the main gate, if they popped out now they’d run right into them. “Hold. Hold.” Ruvvak said over to comm and Kalvaris shot back around the corner quickly. “You got a patrol coming, three of them. Perfect line of sight for the watchtowers too.”

Kalvaris cursed under his breath. “Captain, we have a problem.”

Cerrus didn’t blink from his task. “What’s going on?”

“Sir, Ruvvak; they have a patrol closing in on them and if they try to take them out they’re gonna need to be fucking invisible because they are right in line with the watchtower.” Ruvvak said sighting down his Punisher at the situation. He adjusted his scope to get a wide angle and then focused in on the team that was about to step on Desala and Kalvaris.  
“We’re about to be discovered any second now, Cerrus.” Desala stated softly as they patrol drew closer.

Ruvvak focused in on one of the Batarian soldiers and waited. “Got him in my sights, Sir, I can take him out.” He said as Masso readied his Crossfire. 

Cerrus listened as he continued his work placing the explosive on the locks for the door. The bark of Ruvvak’s sniper rifle was going to be hard to hide and wasn’t exactly covert.  
“Captain, what do you want me to do?” Ruvvak asked again and Cerrus made his decision, if he was going to blow this door it was going to announce them to the world anyhow.

He didn’t even hesitate; they had been covert up until now. Pulling Nihlus out under fire was fine by him. “Go loud.” He ordered and Ruvvak pulled the trigger as soon as he heard the order. 

A single shot rang out as Ruvvak expertly put a round through the left lower eye of one of the Batarians then shifted his scope to the next one catching him in the side of the head before he was able to duck behind cover. The bark from his rifle drew the attention that was expected.

“Oh, here we go.” Masso commented as Ruvvak shifted his attention to the watch tower guards. 

Desala glowed blue and grabbed the third Batarian with a Pull yanking him out of his cover allowing Kalvaris to fire a burst from his Phaeston into his chest. “Vhel?”

“You guys are clear for the moment but the parties going public.” Masso stated. “Make a dash, we’ll cover you.” 

**

Hearing gunfire outside was not a good sign, most of the people in the base would run toward it but with such a high profile prisoner like Nihlus being held someone was bound to come running to them, meaning they were about to get company and quick.

Nov began to realize that Sidda’s pushing for Cerrus to hurry was the right option. “Hey, Cerrus…” Nov began and Cerrus grumbled in annoyance.

“Lieutenant, if you say ‘hurry up’ I’m gonna blow your damn head off.” He stated, his tone told Nov that he really wasn’t kidding.

That was exactly what he was about to say but didn’t want to gamble with Cerrus’ threat. “Yes, Sir.”

Sidda huffed. “I’ll say it. Cerrus, it doesn’t have to be pretty it just has to go ‘Boom’.” She informed with an irritated ‘this is taking way too long’ snap.

Despite the nagging Cerrus was nearly done. “And that ‘boom’ needs to blow this door open without killing Nihlus on the other side.” He said and finished with his bomb. “Now, shut up and get back.” The three of them backed up to the alcove in the observation room. He hit the detonator and the explosive blasted the lock apart in a precise, focused charge.

Nov moved forward and pulled the now broken door open wide enough that he could get through as Cerrus took up the sentry position letting Sidda and Nov tend to Nihlus.  
Desala’s information was spot on so far. Nihlus was exactly where she said he’d be they found him bound to the chair and slumped forward, blood and vomit on the floor around him. Nov knelt down next to him and tried to wake him up.

“Hey.” Nov stated trying to bring Nihlus out of his stupor. “Hey, Nihlus, come on.” The Batarians really didn’t take it easy on him but then again if Nihlus was being Nihlus he really didn’t make it easy on them either. He looked like hell, cuts and bruises were all over his face along with a ton of dried and semi dried blood. The vomit on the floor made Nov worry a little about what they did to him. 

Cerrus posted himself by the door to watch their exit but wasn’t happy with how long it was taking to get Nihlus up. “Nov, hurry up.” He commented.

Nov grumbled and tapped the left side of Nihlus’ face. He saw the damage all over his face and hoped that the pain might wake him up. “They beat the shit out of him, Tyr, give me a minute.” He stated as Sidda gathered up Nihlus’ belongings that he might want to leave with. “Nihlus…” he repeated patting his bruised and swollen cheek. “come on, man, wake up.”

Nihlus woke with a startled jolt and gave Nov a deadly glare; if his hands had been freed Nov would probably have a broken neck or at the very least would be being choked right now. It took him a few moments until Nihlus realized that it was friendly face before him. “Nov?”

Nov patted his left hand, reassuringly. “The one and only.” He replied as he defeated the magnetic locks on the restraints with his Omni-tool. “Can you walk?” he asked and Nihlus stood up as quickly as he could, he didn’t want to spend one more second in that damn chair.

“I’m fine.” He managed out as the action just standing up caused pain to shoot through his head. He truly wasn’t ‘fine’ he had a concussion and Verrl was right, the second dose wasn’t working very well. The levo material was still flooding his system in spite of the shot causing him to shake and his vision to blur. Sidda looked him up and down noticing the same thing the Nov was seeing, he really didn’t look well but a Turian could have a sucking chest wound and would still say ‘I’m fine’.

Putting his worries aside due to the situation and Cerrus’ audible growl behind him Nov pulled the other rifle off his back and handed it to Nihlus.

“Where’d you guys come from?” he asked checking the Phaeston quickly.

“Spectre’s were too far out for an expedient extraction.” Cerrus answered quickly from the door as Nihlus crossed into the observation room and collected his armor pulling it on in less than a minute then took his knife from the table putting it back in the gauntlet it lived in. 

His stomach turned as more of the toxic liquid that had been poured down his throat made a valiant resurgence in his system. He leaned on the table but didn’t throw up. “You guys could have been a little bit faster.” He stated and Sidda moved to help steady him.

“Are you okay?” she asked and he batted her away.

“No. No, I’m really not…let’s go.” He stated and moved toward Cerrus. 

Cerrus was more than happy to get moving but he too was concerned about how Nihlus looked, the Batarians really did a number on him. “Rajin, we’re coming out.” He said and they started moving. 

**

Verrl moved quickly through the corridor, the commotion outside could only mean one thing: someone had come for his Spectre prisoner as his Sergeant predicted. The lack of main power to the facility and the firefight were a distraction and he knew it. The rest of his men were busy dealing with the growing mess outside but he didn’t need help. He guessed that the distraction was the outside force and the extraction team wasn’t going to be bigger that two or three people. He could handle that. 

Sidda led them back out the way they came with Nihlus behind her then Nov and Cerrus, she kept her eyes open while rounding corners so they didn’t get surprised. She reached the blind corner and sucked up against the wall ducking her head around to see if anyone was there. When it was clear she moved around it followed by Nihlus and let out a startled yelp when she ran right into Verrl. She recognized it as an enemy and fired a burst from her rifle catching Verrl a few times in chest and abdomen but not enough to put him down.  
Not very covert but he surprised the hell out of her. In her startled state she had jumped back right into Nihlus he caught her but staggered backward as he was unbalanced anyway. Cerrus and Nov scattered out of the way of the chain reaction. Nihlus landed hard on his back with Sidda against his chest and this time the Spectre reacted noticing Verrl was still coming despite three holes in him. Nihlus pulled the pistol off Sidda’s hip and fired multiple times center mass on Verrl. More than was needed but he channeled the pain and agony he’d just went through into the weapon. This time he didn’t make the mistake of missing and Verrl dropped, his body riddled with holes. 

It happened so quickly Cerrus and Nov barely had enough time to react, by the time they were ready Nihlus struck like lightening and performed a serious bit of overkill on the Batarian. Cerrus grabbed Sidda’s arm and hauled her to her feet, he wasn’t satisfied with her point skills at the moment but that lecture could wait until later. Nov helped Nihlus to his feel and saw Nihlus giving the body a hard glare.

“Rot in hell, you son of a bitch.” Nihlus hissed as they started moving again. Nov was worried as he looked at Nihlus, he didn’t think it was possible but the Spectre was managing to look worse and worse by the minute. 

When they reached Rajin, Sidda noted that dawn was breaking, that was fast but she remembered that she knew nothing about this planet’s day and night cycles. Either way, they needed to leave right now. Rajin had seen no action, no soldiers, not even a fly. While things were blowing up inside and outside the facility her little corner of it was perfectly mellow.

“Deliah.” Cerrus announced softly so she wouldn’t shoot them. 

“What was that?” she asked referring to the rapid fire that Nihlus just did a few minutes ago. “Linus and Vhel sound like they’re having a blast out there but it’s been all quiet back here.” She stated and looked past them to Nihlus. He looked like she expected, beaten and bloody however somehow he managed to look a bit worse than she expected but not because of the obvious physical beating. He fell against the wall but tried to make it look like he meant to do it. She immediately went into medic mode, especially after Nihlus doubled over and threw up a lot bile and liquid. 

“Are you okay?” she asked and frankly Nihlus was growing tired of that question. All he wanted to get off this rock.

“I’m fine, Lieutenant.” He growled even though he truly wasn’t. He wasn’t angry he was just in pain. “Let’s go.”

‘Lieutenant’…he always called her by her rank, he’d never ever called her by her name either her first or her last. She didn’t know him too well beyond just idle chat, when he was assigned to the Lante he kept to himself. The most she’d ever really talked to him was when he helped her with her aim. She became a much better shot after his instruction.

**

Up in the trees The Batarians had zeroed in on Ruvvak and Masso’s position just as Kalvaris and Desala made the final leg of their mad dash to them diving into cover and joining the firefight. 

“Linus, those are missile turrets.” Desala warned as they all saw the heavy weapon swivel to find them. “They fire one of them up here we’re gonna be part of the landscape.”

“Don’t worry about that.” He stated and Desala and Kalvaris gave him a confused expression. “Now, Sir.” He said and Masso activated his omni-tool sending the signal to the explosive mine that Ruvvak had planted on the turret. Ruvvak let out a pleased holler and a laugh as the turret on the left went up in a single explosion causing the primed ordinance to explode amplifying the blast enough to damage the one on the right and take a few Batarians with it. 

Masso laughed at the destruction spearheaded by the enthusiastic demolitionist and Kalvaris joined in the laughter. “And number two.” Masso stated hitting the one that was on the other turret causing it to blow up in the same fashion. 

“Linus, you big, beautiful, bastard.” Kalvaris praised and heard Ruvvak chuckle as she shifted to find the other team and cover them. 

The main gate opened to pour out the rest of the soldiers from the base but the final trick up Masso’s sleeve was the heavy weapon. “What do you say, Linus, shall I get the door?” he asked with a chuckle. 

It was then that both Kalvaris and Desala decided that these two loved their job far too much. 

“Please do, Sir.” Ruvvak replied and fired another shot from his rifle covering the remaining two teams’ escape. 

Nihlus collapsed to one knee as his condition started to deteriorate. He couldn’t breathe as his body trembled worse than before. Rajin backtracked and dropped down next to him making Cerrus, Nov, and Sidda pause to cover them. “Spirits, what did they do to you?” Rajin asked and cupped his face in her hands drawing his eyes up to meet hers, Nihlus locked eyes with her. Her pretty silvery eyes gave him something to focus on but not for long. He growled in pain and squeezed his eyes shut. Rajin looked him over worriedly. There was something very, very wrong with him but Nihlus was so stubborn he didn’t say anything yet. He just wanted off this rock and anything else could be handled later. 

He felt the stomach cramps, the nausea, and the disorientation again. “Levo.” He managed out squeezing his eyes shut as the cramping throughout his body hit him all at once. “They made me drink levo material.” He managed out and Rajin’s eyes widened.

“What?” she replied, the urgency noted in her voice. That could kill him. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“Rajin, we gotta go.” Cerrus stated as the medic dug around in the kit strapped to her thigh. What she pulled out was a syringe; the contents were the Turian form of adrenalin to counteract the allergic reaction. He’d already received two of those administered by Verrl but it wasn’t working. She injected his neck and helped him stand. 

“Sidda.” She called and nothing further needed to be said. Sidda put Nihlus’ left arm over her shoulder and together she and Rajin got the Turian moving. 

“Okay, time to go.” Cerrus stated as he lead them up to the LZ as quickly as he could. 

A sharp, burning pain ripped through Nov’s right shoulder knocking him off his feet. He’d been shot by an armor piercing round that not only ripped through his shields but his medium armor as well. He roared in pain and scurried as fast as he could to the cover to his left. He leaned back against the tree and groaned loudly in pain. 

“Cal!” Sidda shouted seeing him take the hit as Rajin pulled Nihlus into cover and Sidda went back for Nov.

“Sniper in position. Sniper in position.” Ruvvak warned through the comm. From his position he was able to see the whole thing happen and could see the future. “Shepard, get down.” he ordered and Sidda heeded the order and dove into cover as the sniper barely missed her.

Ruvvak sought out the sniper and quickly homed in on his second shot. “On the wall, to the left of the watchtower.” Masso said and Ruvvak lined up his shot, with a sniper on the loose the escape got a little dicer. Ruvvak had caused enough damage with his favorite rifle and was about to do more. The trapped team waited patiently for him to eliminate the threat. The Batarian sniper was doing a good job staying in cover but eventually he was going to get bold, he’d want to finish the task, and his next target would be the Spectre if he poked his head up. He wouldn’t get that chance, a minute passed and the enemy sniper made his error. As soon as Ruvvak saw him through the scope he pulled the trigger dropping him instantly.

“Clear.” Ruvvak said. 

Sidda scrambled for Nov helping him to his feet. Blood was pouring from the wound but they’d take care of that once they were on the shuttle and off this rock. “Come on, Man, we’re almost there.” She said and heard him growl out the pain as she made him stand up.

She helped him up the hill as Rajin practically drug the sick Spectre up the hill and to the cover of the tree line that the rest were having so much fun in. It gave Rajin a little time to make sure Nihlus was responding to the shot she gave him but she wasn’t happy with the results. The firefight, the rush, and the shuttle zooming down over their head added to her frustration, she needed to get him out of here and to Holum or he was going to die and there was nothing she could do to stop it. This was a severe reaction and she had one more shot and that was it, a stop gap at best. 

“Cal, you good?” Cerrus asked and Nov growled in pain. Spirits did that shot hurt. He felt like he just took a rocket to the shoulder. 

Sidda tried to help him sit down gently but he honestly just fell against a tree and slid down with cradling his arm. “Oh yeah…” he groaned out. “I’m just fucking great.” He managed out as Sidda applied the medigel.

Nihlus could feel the same thing as before, he couldn’t breathe and his brain was starting to panic. He needed to calm down but that was easier said than done. “Nihlus, breathe, you need to relax and breathe.” She coached. “Tyr, we have to leave right now or we’re going to lose him.” She stated as the shuttle hovered in its position. “Nihlus, look at me, focus on me. Just relax, deep breaths, slow your breathing down.”

Nihlus followed her instruction locking eyes with her and gripping her left upper arm as tight as the grip of his right hand would allow. 

“Ground team, pull back, I have you covered.” Pelonis said over the comm, the gunship parked itself a safe distance up and started to launch its own weaponry at the base.

Sidda helped Nov to the shuttle behind Rajin with the rapidly deteriorating Nihlus, they were covered by everyone else. Barks from Ruvvak’s Punisher were still being heard until it was time for them all to pile in and get the hell out of dodge before something else went wrong. 

They had done it, they walked into a Batarian base and snatched Nihlus right out from under them, but whether he would survive the tip back to the Lante was anyone’s guess.

“Nihlus,” Rajin coached as the Turian started to gasp for air again. “Nihlus, stay with me. Come on, stay with me.” She said and pulled the remaining shot injecting his neck again. “Damnit, this should be working.” She cursed. In all the times she’d administered or seen the treatment the effect was nearly instantaneous. He should have responded positively so the shot she gave him earlier and he sure as hell should have been better after the one she just gave him. He needed another dose, by giving him two so close together she’d met the recommended dosage but it wasn’t helping. She just needed to keep him alive until they got back to the ship and from there Holum had what was needed to help him. “Vhel, medical kit, right now, give me the adrenalin.” She barked. “Tyr, help me pull his armor off.”

Masso ripped into the kit and prepared the shot for her so all she needed to so was jam it in. She took it quickly as Cerrus understood what she was going to do and removed the chest armor enough so she could do it. She found the ribs she needed and plunged the needle directly into his heart. There was a very good chance that the third dose was going send him straight into cardiac arrest but if she didn’t suffocation was a very real possibility for Nihlus and she wasn’t about to lose him.

“Balin, make it fast.” Cerrus ordered. “Tell him we need Holum on the deck with anaphylaxis equipment. “Hang on, Nihlus.” 

**

Victus narrowed his eyes to the crowd that had gathered around the Medical Bay, Holum spent most of his time tending to Nihlus than Nov. Nihlus was a critical patient but if he could stabilize him everything else would be fine. He had the rest of his staff begin tending to Nov’s wound but that wasn’t good news either. 

It had been a few hours since the teams returned with two patients for Holum. Clearly, the covert option didn’t pan out the whole way but Cerrus had accomplished his mission and brought Nihlus home alive…barely.

“Well?” Victus asked as he entered the Medical Bay allowing the door to close behind him to close out the inquiring group outside. 

Holum sighed and stood looking at the General. “I sedated Nihlus, started him on the adrenalin/anti-histamine cocktail. I don’t know how much they gave him or even what they gave him but when I tested his blood he had three times the normal amount of antigens…and an astronomical amount of adrenalin…he should be dead.”

Victus wasn’t a doctor but knew the basics when it came to the dextro-levo anaphylaxis. The high levels of adrenalin were easy to attribute. “Rajin said she had to give three shots back to back.”

That only furthered Holum’s confusion. “Yeah, that alone should have sent him into cardiac arrest.” He said a sighed. “I’ve been around a long time, Sir; I haven’t seen a systemic reaction like this since school. I also haven’t seen someone with such a high tolerance for adrenalin either.”

Victus grunted a response. “So…”

“Once the sedative wares off he should be fine…I’ll keep an eye on him.” He answered and Victus looked over to Nov’s sleeping body in a bed on the other side of the room.

“And Nov?” he asked.

Holum sighed; Nov was currently on a heavy dose of painkillers and was sleeping off the pain he was in. “He’s actually in worse shape than Nihlus is. The round was armor piercing top grade tungsten fired from a heavily modified rifle to be able to punch through his shields and armor in one shot. It shattered his shoulder blade.” He stated and Victus didn’t like that description. “He’s going to need to go to the military hospital in Cipritine for surgery and physical therapy.”

Victus huffed, mostly out of the inconvenient annoyance this was causing. Nov going to Cipritine meant he was going to be grounded for a while. 

**

Victus had passed the word about Nihlus’ condition and Nov’s status so that the teams would disperse from the convention that had gathered outside the Medical Bay. Nov having to go to Palaven was going to a major annoyance for him. He’d had to shuffle the crews around or put Maridus back out in the field if he wanted to fill the slot. He was also very close to losing Sidda as CO of Argo since she only had about four weeks left on her tour. The thought of that aggravated him anyway and he really didn’t want to bench one of his best officers but the injury to Nov’s shoulder was severe. 

Sidda had cleaned up and made her way down to Medical to check on Nihlus and Nov, Holum had banished most everyone from Medical because the healing process wasn’t going to be sped up by a bunch of hovering Turians. When she arrived she didn’t see Holum but saw Maridus sitting by Nihlus’ bedside reading over a data pad. “Hey,” she greeted quietly, walking over to stand on the other side of Nihlus’ bed. “how is he?”

Maridus looked up but didn’t stand up. It wasn’t a surprise that he was there watching over the Spectre. She had heard the story about Nihlus disobeying orders to save a team that the higher ups had deemed ‘acceptable losses’, a team that Maridus was on, his actions began his decline of favor in the military but Maridus never forgot and never would. He lobbied for Victus to assign him to the Lante when he’d heard that Nihlus had been bounced to another unit. Nihlus never forgot this ship either, it was the only stable assignment he’d ever had and the only commanding officer he’d ever learned anything from. “Stable.” He replied scratching his left brow. “Just waiting for the sedative to wear off.” 

Sidda nodded satisfied with his answer and looked down at Nihlus, he looked much better than when they found him even though his face still looked like hell. “I’m surprised Holum let you in here.” She stated and Maridus snorted. 

“I pulled rank and kicked him out.” He stated and Sidda chuckled loudly then looked over seeing Nov sitting up in bed with his head leaned back. She said nothing to Maridus and patted Nihlus’ right arm as she walked over to Nov. 

Nov had sat up, carefully, and finally found a somewhat comfortable position it sit in. His posture was tense which told her that the position had outlived its usefulness. His head was leaned back as far as the damage to his torso would allow and she looked at the heavily bandaged shoulder. The corresponding arm was in a sling and the damaged shoulder was wrapped neatly in such a way to trap his right arm against his body so he didn’t move the shoulder blade that broken in several pieces. 

“Hey.” she greeted in the same tone she’d just done to Maridus. 

Nov cracked an eye open merely for opportunity to look at her. He was hoping she would come to see him, just talking to her and spending time with her made him feel better but not too much since there was a hole in his shoulder the size of his fist. “Hi.” He managed as his shoulder throbbed through the painkillers, he was happy to see her but his expression didn’t show it.

Sidda cocked her head to him. “You okay?” she asked. She knew that physically he was in pain, a blind idiot could see that but she was more concerned with how he was actually feeling. Being yanked from the ship for an injury would tick her off and Nov was just like she was. 

“I’ll be alright.” He said and honestly felt a little better talking to her, it was purely mind over matter, he found something else to focus on. 

“I hear they’re gonna send you to Palaven for a while.” She said and Nov grunted as he tried to adjust him position without angering his shoulder. 

“Yeah,” he said through a deep breath and found a position he was content with. “they get to put my shoulder back together…probably wind up with a synthetic bone weave…or something. Holum’s not sure how well they’ll be able to salvage the bone.”

“Nice little vacation for you.” She chuckled and he snorted out a laugh.

“Why do I get the feeling it’s not gonna be as fun as you think it’s gonna be?” he joked and watched her dig around in the left thigh pocket of her pants.

“Cards?” she asked holding up a deck and Nov paused a moment smiling to himself.

“Have a seat.” He said after a moment. “Now remember, I’m on drugs so go easy.”

Sidda smirked at him settling into a position near the foot of his bed on his left side. “I’ll be gentle.” She flirted and started shuffling the cards. 

**

The Council ship docked with the Lante safely under the guard of Vendabar station. The Council had sent their own to collect Nihlus after the rescue and Victus was surprised and honored at who was coming. He straightened his posture to the Turian who boarded his ship. 

“Spectre Arterius,” Victus greeted with a proper, respectful nod. “may I say this is truly an honor, Sir.”

Saren looked the legendary general in the eye. Victus was a well-known name and he was one of the few officers that he respected in the military. Like Nihlus, he didn’t have the patience for military protocol and their narrow-mindedness. Unlike Nihlus, though, his outlook on the galaxy was a little more extreme. His racism was well known and geared solely toward Humans. “Likewise, General, Nihlus speaks very highly of you.”

Victus nodded. “Nihlus was one of the best officers I’d ever had…I’m glad to see him as a Spectre.” He replied and gestured for him to walk with him. “Nihlus was pretty beat up when we found him and tortured using some rather….original…techniques. He hasn’t said much about the interrogation but knowing Nihlus and how beat up he was he didn’t break.” Saren simply grunted a response, he had no doubt his protégé would hold up under duress. 

**

When Nihlus woke up he was greeted by Maridus’ face, not the face he’d like to wake up to. Generally he liked waking up to a pretty face and that wasn’t what he would classify Maridus under. Holum checked him over and decided that Nihlus was a fucking miracle; he had no outstanding side effects from so much levo or from so much adrenalin. He was still sore but other than that he was going to make a full recovery. A slow trickle of people came in to see him after he woke up and checked on him. Victus, Cerrus, and Nov even made his way from across the room to say hi. 

Nihlus slowly pulled his armor on in the medical bay. He was feeling much better but aside from his broken nose and tender face the part that hurt the most was his chest. Rajin wasn’t gentle with her injection but he was still breathing so a little pain afterward was fine by him. 

“Wow, you look pretty good for a dead man.” Rajin stated and Nihlus allowed a snort as she walked up to him. “How are you feeling?”

Nihlus shrugged. “I’ll survive.” He replied looking down at her. “Thanks to you.”

Rajin was flattered to his tone. “All I did was give you a few shots.” She said and Nihlus didn’t see it that way. 

He took her right hand with his and gripped it tightly. “Thank you, Deliah.” He said his tone genuine and she looked up at him. She couldn’t help but see the sincerity in his eyes and his expression. He came very close to dying out there and he remembered Rajin clearly saving his life. “I’m definitely going to be taking some time off so…come find me on the Citadel, I’ll buy you dinner…or ten.”

Rajin allowed a flattered giggle. She never really thought about Nihlus in any other way than a friend and a fellow soldier. “I’ll do that.” She stated, sweetly.

“Please do.” He said and let go of her hand and patted her arm before turning and walking out of the Medical Bay. Rajin was taken aback by his suggestion but wouldn’t be opposed to the idea of a relationship with Nihlus. 

Nihlus exited the medical bay and was intercepted by Sidda. “Hey there,” she greeted. “How ya doing?”

He was already growing tired of be asked that, anything was better than where he was. “Much, Commander, thank you.” He replied and Sidda looked him up and down. His face still looked like hell but that would heal. He had been informed that his ride was here to come and get him and as much as he’d like to thank everyone involved a thousand times he really just wanted to go home and complete his mission then take a lot of time off. “I don’t think I can thank any of you enough…I’d have been transferred to Khar’Shan and been tortured and killed.” He said and sighed, he’d never been rattled like this before but it would pass and he’d return to work. She offered him a smile and a nod as he started to walk away.

Sidda stopped him as he went to walk by her. “Hey, I wanted to ask you…that Batarian in the hall…” she began and Nihlus looked down at her. 

“He’s the one who tortured me, yes.” He answered knowing where she was going with that question. “His death was…too quick if you ask me.” He added and extended his hand out to her, she took it and he gripped her hand firmly with a shake. “Thank you again, Commander.”

Saren paused in the hall seeing Nihlus shaking hands with a human. “You have a human onboard?” he asked Victus who paused looking back to Saren. 

He looked from Saren to Sidda then back to Saren. “Yes, she’s a part of a Council and Alliance program to smooth relations between our governments.” He explained. “That’s Cdr. Shepard.” Saren studied the human from a distance and Victus couldn’t decide if he liked the look or needed to be worried about Saren’s opinion toward humans. “I could introduce you.”

“No.” he replied and Victus allowed a nod and saw Nihlus walk away from Sidda who had been distracted by Nov calling her name. 

Sidda glanced down the corridor where Nihlus was going. She saw a Turian she didn’t recognize and found him quite odd in appearance. “Hey, Cal, who’s that with Victus?” she asked and he turned to look.

“That’s Saren Arterius…best Spectre in the galaxy.” He replied and raised his brow to the three legendary Turians standing together. “Wow…that’s a pretty heady group right there…Victus, Saren, and Nihlus. All they’re missing is you.”

“Why’s he look so different?” she asked referring to Saren’s odd appearance.

Nov shrugged. “He’s a genetic throwback, I think.” He stated. “About one in a million look like him…or so I’m told.” Sidda looked him up and down as the three of them headed off. There was something about him that made her uneasy, maybe it was the way he differed in appearance or maybe it was just the way he carried himself but there was definitely something that didn’t sit well with her. “Come on…I’m hungry and want to walk around.”


	17. All Good Things

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Seventeen: All Good Things

 

Victus stepped into his quarters and heard the shower running; something that most in the galaxy shared was bathing. Turians were not born to swim but they used water to clean themselves just like Humans and Asari. When Sidda took a shower the smell of the shampoo she used made his quarters smell nice. In all honesty it was her smell that he liked; his bad mood quickly overcame the joy he got from knowing she was there and that his quarters smelled like her. He sighed and didn’t really want to think about what he had to do next. He heard the water shut off and casually leaned against the wall with a perfect view of where Sidda was. She stepped out of the shower and Victus couldn’t help but smile to himself, never in a million years would he have thought he’d be attracted to anything other than another Turian and he definitely never thought he’d love a human. Sidda was different, she was human but she thought like a Turian. They had molded her into a fierce battlemaster combining the training of a Turian with the resilience of a human and that fierce creature was his. All his. He watched her towel off leaving him an unobstructed view of her curvy body and let out a low rumble of approval that was enough to draw Sidda’s attention. She looked back at him and smiled to the idea of him watching her and making those noises. 

“Like what you see?” she asked with a giggle and Victus let his eyes take in the full view of her strong back, shapely ass, and strong but slender legs. She dried her hair and tossed it over her shoulder letting the long brown locks tumble over her back. 

Victus knew what he wanted to say but suddenly forgot how to articulate a word let alone a sentence. He grunted a response then blinked finally remembering what she had asked. “Nothing better.” He replied finally and she giggled to the decorated General losing his train of thought at the sight of a naked woman in his quarters. 

Sidda wrapped herself up in a towel and walked up to him standing on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. He helped and leaned down until her lips gave him a simple kiss before she moved away from him. His mind eventually shifted back to the aggravating news he’d just received. He’d been a little aggravated since Nihlus’ rescue operation. Nov getting shot threw his harmonious ship into a little bit of chaos, he hated replacing members and replacing Nov was irritating but his teams had run a man short on several occasions. Now his aggravation was amplified by the orders he had received. 

He sighed and stood up straight following her for a moment as she started to brush through her wet hair. “I received new orders from Palaven.” He stated and Sidda turned to pay attention to him as he spoke but didn’t seem as concerned as he was. How could she? She didn’t know. “I am to return you to Arcturus Station and report to Palaven by order of the Primarch.”

Sidda froze in mid brush stroke and stared at him, she was confused. “What? I still have a few weeks left? How can I be sent to Arcturus?”

Victus sighed, grumbled actually. “The Council is highly satisfied with your assignment and feel that you can return home. Which means the Primarch pounced on Councilor Sparatus and forced him to end this prematurely so he can chew me out in person on Palaven.”

“You’re in trouble.” She said realizing that this was a repercussion from Octavia’s visit. The Primarch was pissed off enough to order Victus back to Palaven without Sidda meaning he was going to be there a while. 

Victus snorted. “I’m always in trouble.”

“Adrien-…” she began her tone filled with sympathy. She felt like this was all her fault that their relationship had gotten him into trouble. In reality it was Victus’ bending of the rules that got him into hot water not Sidda.

He held up a hand to silence her. “It’s okay…I clash with him a lot…I’ll be chewed out and reprimanded and be back on the Lante before you know it.”

“How can you be so caviler about this?” she asked. “If I was summoned to Arcturus to be chewed out by the Parliament I’d be a little more worried.”

Victus snorted again. “Because I’m used to this.” He replied. “It’ll give my crew some R&R and allow Nov to undergo his surgeries.”

“And what if it’s worse?” Sidda asked. “You kicked his investigator off the ship.”

Victus shrugged, he’d done worse…a lot worse. He never had a problem telling the Brass when they were stupid or wrong. Mostly he did that all in the same sentence. “I’ve called him an idiot too but I’m still here.” He replied making Sidda chuckle. She believed him and could hear him saying that, the amusing thing was picturing the Primarch’s face. “He just wants to flex his muscle over me and tell me how much he disapproves of my personal relations.”

Sidda sighed; she still worried about him, what would happen if things didn’t go how he thought they would go but she let it go since he wasn’t going to tell her anyway if something was wrong. She also felt sad; she really didn’t want to leave. This assignment had been the toughest she’d ever had and literally gave it her all. She knew it was temporary but didn’t want it to end. “So…how much time do I have?” 

“I need to be on Palaven by the end of the week but Nov needs to be there sooner. Holum’s done all he can for his arm.” He stated. Releasing a sigh she dropped the hairbrush on the nearest table and he saw the troubled expression. She hoped that his explanation for the assignment being ended a few weeks early was correct, that the Primarch was mad enough to order him back and damn the Council’s project and not because of her relationship with him or her performance under his command. “We should be at Arcturus sometime tomorrow.” He finished and walked up to stand close to her.

Sidda understood the phrase ‘subject to the will of the service’ and decided to make the best out of it. “Well, I guess I better not waste my time then.” She stated and Victus narrowed his eyes unsure of what that meant.

“What?” he asked as she turned toward him and guided him back a little so he was at the foot of the bed. Victus grunted as Sidda forcefully shoved him backward onto the bed. He watched as his female shed the towel covering her soft body and crawled over him straddling his waist with a smile. She watched as the seasoned General’s eyes took in the details of her naked body. She started to unfasten his tunic as she felt his hands glide up her thighs and over her back eventually settling on her breasts. 

Sidda leaned down to him with a pleased grin and kissed his left mandible first before leaving a trail of small kisses down to his neck where she paused to nuzzle as she tried to get the tunic to come undone. 

He purred…she loved that…sometimes the purr came across as a growl but that was even more inviting. Human men didn’t purr or at least not in a way that was in the least bit sexy. Turian’s were born predators, they purred, they growled, and they bit…she’d been completely ruined for Human men now. “I can postpone the trip…” he stated and heard Sidda giggle in his ear.

**

Word of Sidda’s early departure spread through the ship faster than a zero G fire. The rumor mill worked overdrive and Cerrus probably hadn’t stopped his happy dance since he got word. They all knew it was coming but it was still bittersweet for those who felt Sidda was an excellent addition to the crew and a nearly unmatched leader. Even Cerrus respected her abilities in the field although he had somewhat less of an opinion after her mistake on Ihm’shal that Nihlus was able to bail her out of. 

Sidda hissed at the scratch on her right shoulder, Victus accidently gave her two 3 inch scratches over her right shoulder blade when their sex got really intense. She didn’t feel it in the moment but was feeling it now, sex with Turians carried a few drawbacks. The scratches stung under her clothes but she’d survive. 

“So…you’re leaving us.” Maridus stated getting her attention. 

Sidda turned and smiled to him. “A few weeks early, but yes.” She stated and Maridus looked her up and down. 

“What’s the matter with you?” he asked.

“Just a couple scratches.” 

“Humans weren’t made for Turians.” He stated with a chuckle and Sidda scoffed to him.

“Bite me.” She replied and Maridus smirked.

“Someone else already did that…I just don’t wanna know where.” He stated with a chuckle and she playfully shoved him out of her way. 

“Did you want something or were you just skulking around waiting for me to come out?” she asked with a chuckle and Maridus let out a laugh. 

“I don’t skulk.” He replied. 

With the news of her early out, Sidda made her way to Medical to check on Nov and to talk to him. Odds were that he already knew that her mission was coming to an end early but he was stuck in the rat cage and probably needed to get out. She found Holum changing the bandage, finishing the last bit to splint his arm to his side. There was really nothing he could do to help but give painkillers. The damage to the bone was too severe for his bone healers so he didn’t even bother. The shoulder needed reconstruction so his goal was to keep it immobile until then. 

Sidda entered the bay and held her step as she saw Holum finish with the sling. Nov was doing well to not make a peep but he was clearly in pain. His eyes were closed and he sat tight like a spring waiting for Holum to finish his left hand was gripping the bed so tight that claw marks were probably left behind. Sidda said nothing and thought about leaving and returning when he was finished. 

“Commander.” Holum greeted and Nov opened his eyes looking over at her. She was a welcome sight but that didn’t clear the pain from his mind. Sidda observed quietly as his amber eyes were full of pain, if that shot had been centered a little more Nov would be dead and she was eternally grateful that he wasn’t.

“Are you done yet?” he growled, finally his teeth clenched as Holum fastened the sling.

“Yes, yes, I’m done.” He stated and picked up a syringe of painkiller that was Nov’s best friend right now. Where on a human, the sights for injections varied depending on muscle depth or blood the plating on a Turian’s hide was very thick which accounted for the wicked looking nearly 12 gauge needles that she had seen. Mostly she’d seen things injected in the neck, the softest part of their body, Rajin injecting Nihlus’ chest was the first she’s ever seen of that. Holum tilted Nov’s head and punched the needle into his skin dosing him with another round of the painkiller. “Alright, nothing sudden, do you understand?”

Nov nodded as Holum draped the loose shirt back over his exposed torso. As soon as she was finished with that Nov was on his feet and turned to look at Sidda. “You’re leaving.” He stated, the lingering pain he was in clouded his tact so he got straight to the point. 

Sidda nodded as Nov grimaced while situating the shirt. “Apparently the Primarch wants Adrien’s ass so bad he was able to convince the Council to let me go early.” She stated and Nov chuckled. He was struggling with the shirt to cover himself and she gave him a hand. 

Nov looked down at her helping him dress; he blinked a few times as his foggy mind raced with things that he shouldn’t be thinking about. He thought he had pulled himself together but was apparently very wrong…or it was the drugs and pain. Probably the drugs and pain. “I’ll be happy to get this damn shoulder fixed.” He stated shutting out thoughts of her. “Sid, get me out of here…I’m going crazy.”

Sidda chuckled slightly. “Hey, Doc, can I take him?” she asked and Holum looked at her with a slight grumble. No was his first answer but Nov was starting to go crazy and therefore driving him crazy. His blue eyes shifted between them and he looked to Sidda. 

Holum trusted that Nov couldn’t get into too much damn trouble on the ship but knowing the both of them they’d find it. “He is to take it easy, Commander, and I am not even close to kidding.” Holum stated. “I’m serious. If he jostles that shoulder too much it could end his military career.” He explained and Sidda looked up at the red painted Turian. 

“I’ll be careful.” She replied and Holum looked to Nov with the same threatening expression. 

“Lieutenant?” he asked and saved Nov the first response. “I mean it; if you damaged that further I’ll inflict so much damn pain on you-…”

Nov huffed. “Yeah, I get it, Sir.”

**

Nov’s mind was clouded with painkillers and the idea of Sidda leaving. He hated the idea of her leaving, like the others that held her dear he had gotten used to having her around. There was a part of him that wanted to drop down in front of her and tell her everything that he felt for her but the honor in him made him stop. As much as he wanted her she was not his. He was frustrating himself with his warring sides and made a conscious effort not to say something he’d regret due to his drug clouded mind. 

Normally, he heard everything she said when she was talking but right now he was finding stuff hard to focus on. One thing at a time was about all his brain could handle with the powerful stuff that Holum gave him coursing through his veins. She was talking but her words fell on deaf ears or rather drugged ones. He closed his eyes and shook his head sharply pausing in his gait. 

Sidda stopped realizing he wasn’t walking with her anymore and stepped back to him. “Cal, you okay?” she asked and Nov took a moment before nodding. 

“Yeah…Holum doesn’t fuck around when it comes to his drugs.” He stated and Sidda chuckled. 

“We can go back.” She said and Nov shook his head. 

“No. No, I’ll be alright.” He said and continued walking. “You’re a much prettier sight than Holum and I’d much rather look at you than him.” Sidda laughed loudly and paced him.

Rajin was seated at the Rec Room table scrolling through a datapad, her feet were propped up and she completely engrossed in what she was reading. It was a letter from Nihlus, the rescue two days ago nearly killed him and she knew he was on his way back to the Citadel for some time off. It surprised her that he sent her a letter so quickly. As soon as the Council ship departed with the living legend Saren they used the core to jump to the Citadel. Clearly, it was enough time for Nihlus to compose a letter and send it to her. She let out an audible giggle to something he wrote and ignored the loud entourage of Nov, Kalvaris, and Sidda enter. 

Sidda and Nov collected Kalvaris while on the way to the Rec Room. Kalvaris shared the same opinion of most everyone else, he too had grown accustom to Sidda being around but didn’t share the romantic inclinations that Victus and Nov did. He simply counted her a friend and comrade. The addition of Kalvaris, the conversation grew louder as they both tried to draw Nov out of his drug induced haze. 

“How’s the shoulder, Cal?” Masso asked patting Nov’s injured arm. 

Nov released a hiss and a growl toward the fellow officer. “Still good enough to knock you back to your mother’s womb if you do that again.”

Masso raised his brow and took his hand away from Nov with a chuckle. “He is really testy today.” He said to Sidda who shrugged.

“He’s angry that I’m leaving.” She replied and Masso chuckled. 

“And Cerrus is probably dancing.” He stated as the group laughed. 

Nov cocked his head to Rajin who hadn’t moved from her seat or paid any attention to what was going on around her. He moved toward her standing over her from behind eyeing what she was reading. “What’s got you so engrossed?” he asked and when she didn’t respond he quickly snatched the pad from her and scurried back as fast as his battered body would allow. “Oh…what’s this? A letter from Nihlus?”

Rajin shot to her feet turning on her former lover who was obviously teasing her. “Give it back, Cal.”

Nov played keep away with her, Rajin’s former dwarfed by his despite injury. “It is from Nihlus…” Nov announced with a mischievous chuckle. “Our dear Deliah has captured the eye of the second best Spectre in the galaxy.” 

“One more word, Cal…” Rajin threatened. 

“What did he write?” he asked. “Was it steamy?”

Rajin glowered at him and gave Nov the reward for angering her. She smacked his injured arm hard enough to make him cry out in pain and drop his good arm to cradle the one that now hurt more giving Rajin the opportunity to take back what she wanted. “None of your damn business.” 

The pained look on his face and his growl of pain made her smirk a little. “Tell Nihlus to be careful…you’re mean.”

“You seemed to like it.” She sniped and Nov let out a cackle through the pain. 

“Oh, wow…” he stated. “I like you like this.”

Rajin’s eyes narrowed to him, drugged or not he was still a flirt and one that made her laugh despite being such a pain in the ass. 

**

About an hour later Sidda had left Nov in the Rec Room as the hour approached for her to start packing things up and returning items to the armory.

“So exactly how are we going to do this?” Victus asked as he watched her. “Me here, you there….it’s going to be tough to see each other.”

Sidda dropped what she had and turned toward him sitting on the edge of her bed. She cupped his face in her hands and straddled his lap feeling his hands on her back to make sure she didn’t fall back. “We will see each other again, Adrien.” She stated and nuzzled him pressing her forehead to his. Victus purred holding her to him. “We may be parted for longer than we want but that’ll just make it better when we do see each other.”

Victus’ purr turned the non-hostile growl that she loved as his mouth dropped to the left side of her neck and sharply placed her on her back as he settled over her. Her giggle made him chuckle as well, if he was going to go without her for god knows how long he was going make the last day count.

When it came to packing the rule was the same no matter who you were or where you were, when Sidda came onboard she brought a duffle. Just one duffle. Now she was having a hard time fitting everything back into that duffle and it wasn’t like she had gone on a shopping spree. It was just a pain in the ass putting the genie back into the bottle.

“How in the hell could I have accumulated this much stuff.” She stated. “I didn’t even buy anything.”

Victus allowed a chuckle as he put the bed back in proper order and sat down on it. She continued to neatly fold everything up so that it would all fit and Victus observed her, he really wasn’t happy about her leaving but there wasn’t much choice in the matter. He was military and was used to the separation, it was just that he had gotten used to having her around. “So where do you think they’re going to send you?” he asked continuing the line of questioning she had interrupted earlier and she shrugged. 

“Not sure. Probably send me to Earth after I download to the Brass.” She stated and paused for a moment. “They better send me to Earth…first thing I’m eating is a giant steak with mashed potatoes and gravy and green beans…” Sidda stopped in the middle of her day dream as she heard her stomach grumble. “Yeah, I’m gonna shut up now.”

Victus laughed as she resumed her packing ignoring the grumbling stomach. She began to clear the things on the bed next to him and uncovered a knife. He narrowed his eyes to it and picked it up to inspect it closer. He seen her carry it but never took a good look at it, it looked like a Talon but slightly different. He pulled the blade up a few inches and froze feeling his blood burn at the sight of the stamp. Rylo’s colony sigil. “Where did you get this?”

Sidda looked down at him holding the rolled up shirts in her hand. “Nov. He gave it to me.” She stated and Victus felt a deep seed of anger and jealousy start to rise. 

He dropped the knife back into the sheath sharply with a loud click and shot off the bed. He really didn’t like that…not coming from Nov, he had noticed a few looks here and there and had never doubted Sidda but he was suspicious of Nov though. Sidda and Nov’s bond was strong but and he had never wondered until now if Nov wanted to take anything further. If that was the case he needed to curb it, now. “Did he say why?” he asked and his tone made Sidda’s eyes narrow.

“He said it was a gift.” 

Victus growled and turned to leave. “I’ll be back.” He grumbled and turned to leave but Sidda stopped him. 

“Adrien?” she asked but he didn’t answer hitting the button to leave. “Hey, Adrien?” she repeated gripping him tighter making him stop and looked down at her. 

“It’s a Turian thing, Sid, let it go.” He stated and left in a huff still holding onto the knife. 

Victus found his target, he wasn’t sure why he didn’t notice the knife before but he had noticed Nov’s behavior toward her. He never felt like he needed to worry because of how Sidda acted around him. She flirted back but it was mainly harmless. The knife was a family knife and as much as Nov tried to distance himself from his home colony, his father really, it was a Rylo custom to give a knife to a potential mate. 

He rounded the corner into the Rec Room gripping the knife in his left hand. Nov was there chatting with a few crew members, the red faced Turian was in good spirits despite the pain he was in. When Victus appeared the chatting stopped and Nov seemed not to mind the General joining the conversation but his body language made him rethink that. 

“Out.” Victus ordered to the crewmen who scurried out quickly. Nov narrowed his eyes and got up walking over to him judging that something was wrong. He opened his mouth to ask if there was something wrong Victus pushed him back firmly into the wall with his right hand. Nov hit the wall hard enough to cause pain to shoot through the right half of his body but Victus maintained the pressure holding him in place. 

A growl of pain escaped him as his mandibles clenched tight. “What the-…” he began but Victus took a step closer to get into his subordinate’s face. 

He presented the sheathed weapon to him. “What is this?” Victus demanded in a growl still holding Nov to the wall, the pressure continuing to cause pain to course through his back.   
Nov overcame the initial surge of pain and glowered at his superior. “That’s Sid’s knife.” 

“It’s your knife.” He snapped harshly. “Why does she have it?”

Nov let himself be manhandled to a point but the point had been reached and surpassed. He shoved the General back with his left arm causing Victus to skip back a few steps but maintained his aggressive posture. Despite the pain he was in Nov’s posture mirrored Victus’ telling him that the younger officer wasn’t afraid to throw down even with only one good arm and he’d fair better than most. “It was a gift.” He replied, his voice mired in a painful growl. “I gave it to her for her birthday.”

“A family knife?” Victus questioned, the hostility in his tone was unmistakable and Nov realized that Victus was being territorial. He beat on Cerrus for less and for something that he couldn’t control. All the while he should have been watching Nov. He felt threatened by him and was acting out. “It looks more like a dowry.”

The expression on Nov’s face changed and Victus knew right then and there that the younger officer was attracted or even in love with Sidda. He resisted the urge to beat the man into a bloody pulp mainly because of Sidda. He got the impression that Nov hadn’t told anyone about how he felt and he certainly didn’t tell Sidda. He felt threatened by Nov’s gift to her and wanted to make his displeasure known. Sidda was his and that was the end of it. He held the knife in his right hand by the blade and shoved it into his chest forcing him to take it and pushing him back into the wall. He didn’t care about the obvious pain he was causing his officer as he wanted to make his position abundantly clear. “She is not yours.” He growled in his face. “Stay away from her.” He used no rank as this wasn’t a military issue. Victus gave him one final shove to reiterate his statement then stormed out having said his peace. 

Nov closed his eyes and let his good arm cradle his sore one. He allowed a whine of pain to be heard before making his way out of the Rec Room. He had thus far kept himself in control and didn’t act on his feelings for Sidda. He was honestly surprised as hell that Victus had just now felt threatened by it, but now that he had he needed to make a choice; to let her go or jump in with both feet. He saw the way Victus and Sidda were together and how happy Sidda seemed to be and he refused to be the one to ruin that especially if she didn’t feel the same way about him, it would firebomb their friendship and he wouldn’t allow that. As badly as he wanted her he really only had one choice, whether or not he acted on it was another story. 

**

As Sidda walked into the armory she found Ruvvak and Cerrus in the middle of a debate over which gun was better, the brand new Phaeston that was still being tested or the military’s mainstay assault rifle the Crossfire. The general consensus was that the Phaeston was versatile and state of the art but not everyone liked it. Ruvvak was one of them.   
“The Crossfire is way more precise and has more punch power than the Phaeston will ever dream of.” Ruvvak stated as Cerrus began to disassemble a Brawler at his work bench to fix the heat sink. 

“Mod it and you get the same result.” Cerrus replied and Ruvvak scoffed. 

“Modded or unmodded the Crossfire is better.” Ruvvak defended and Cerrus shook his head to the demolitionist. 

“Now I know why you’re just a sergeant.” Cerrus sniped and Ruvvak shook his head. 

“Well, Captain, I must say you’re an idiot.” He stated bluntly and Cerrus laughed.

Sidda laughed as she entered the room to that comment. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks that around here.” She said in an obvious banter to Cerrus who simply ignored her. 

“Just having a simple, if not unbalanced, debate over which gun is better…” Ruvvak stated and cast a look over to Cerrus then back to Sidda. “What do you think, Commander, Phaeston or Crossfire?”

“Phaeston’s lighter.” She stated and Ruvvak shook his head.

“Grow stronger.” He replied playfully.

Sidda scoffed, that coming from Ruvvak made her laugh. Although he was shorter than most of the Turians onboard he was heavier built and when one of his punches connected it was like being hit by a damn sledgehammer. “Not all of us can be a walking anvil, Linus.” She bantered back and Ruvvak laughed. 

“They say we’re dropping you off in a few hours.” He said and Sidda nodded.

“Yep.” She replied with a heavy sigh then gestured to Cerrus. “Has he started dancing yet?” she asked.

Ruvvak laughed louder to that comment but Cerrus did what he usually did, ignored her. However he did have a response to that. “That happens after you leave, Commander.” Cerrus stated making Ruvvak laugh more.

Sidda smiled to his glee. “Record that for me,” she said to Ruvvak. “I’d pay to see it.”

She even got a chuckle from Cerrus for that but nothing more. Sidda was going to miss his perpetually bitchy ass and then sighed handing Ruvvak her sidearm. It was like giving up a piece of herself. This was the weapon she was issued when she came onboard, now she was giving it back. Ruvvak saw the hesitation on her face as she handed it to him. 

“You alright, Commander?” he asked and Sidda nodded with a sigh. 

“Yeah.” She replied her tone brushing off the look. “Yeah, I’m good….it just feels weird.” She stated and Cerrus looked up from his project for a moment before returning his attention to it. After all this time he still didn’t know what to make of her. She was fierce, he admitted that but he still didn’t see her as an equal. Her ferocity wasn’t in question, when pushed into it she could rival the best in combat but the fact that he was still split on her talent and skill irritated him. 

Ruvvak could understand that and looked down at her as she extended her hand to him. The Turian shook her hand firmly with a nod. “It’s been far too short, Commander.”

Sidda smiled to him and nodded. “That it has, Linus.” She stated and gripped his hand firmly with respect. “Take care of yourself.” 

Ruvvak nodded to her. “You too, Commander, those Alliance types won’t be able to watch your back as well as we can.” He stated and Sidda giggled. 

“True but I’ll finally find someone of equal fucking height.” She chuckled. “I’m getting a crick in my neck looking up at you giant bastards.” She stated and Ruvvak enjoyed the banter. Sidda was unlike any commander he’d ever had, she conducted herself more like and equal than someone over him. He enjoyed her command style and was only sorry to see it end so quickly. 

“Well, add grow taller to the list, Commander.” He returned and Sidda laughed patting his arm as she left the armory. 

**

Nov tried his best to deal with the painful throb in his shoulder. Holum was gonna kill him there was no way around that. He was told to be careful and until his encounter with Victus he was. The broken bones under his skin ached, throbbed, and bit into his nerves. He clenched his mouth closed showing obvious pain as he entered the Medical Bay. Holum looked up as Nov entered and knew the pained look on his face. 

“What’s the matter with you?” he asked but it came out more like a demand. 

Nov had but one answer, there was no way he was going to say he tangled with the General over a female so he went the sarcastically vague route. “I ran into a fucking wall.” He growled and Holum didn’t buy that but also didn’t push it. 

“I told your clumsy ass to watch where you’re going.” He scolded as Nov made is way to the bed that had become his. 

“Yeah, yeah.” He murmured. 

“I can’t give you anymore drugs so just lay there and try to heal for a change.” Holum ordered, his tone ringing of irritation. 

Nov found the single comfortable position and closed his eyes letting the pain subside. “Yes, Sir.” He stated through an exhaled breath. 

**

After the armory Sidda went to the locker room to collect her armor and gear. She cleaned out her locker and stowed her gear away properly so it could be moved. Her armor had seen considerable use in the past year, scratches and scuffs from sliding down the platform could still be seen, one of her more colorful memories in the past year. She remembered the first mission with Nihlus, the Prothean ruin that sent her, Nihlus, and Maridus tumbling. 

“Lost in memory?” Maridus asked and Sidda turned her attention him. 

“Yeah.” She replied. “Chasing you down a platform, rolling like a rock in a Prothean ruin, bar fight of the damn century.” 

Maridus chuckled. “Certainly hasn’t been boring.” He stated and Sidda laughed.

“Definitely one of my more eventful years.” She replied and stowed her helmet into the trunk. “Is it bad that I don’t want to leave?” she asked him and Maridus leaned against the wall with a sigh. 

“No.” he answered and she put the rest of the gear into the trunk. “You’ve got enough blood, sweat, and tears in this ship to be a part of it.” He stated as he observed her troubled appearance. “I don’t want to see you go. You opened the eyes of a lot of people on this ship, mine included.”

Sidda looked down with a half-smile. “You were my first ally, Damar.” She stated. “Your eyes were already open.”

Maridus moved toward her. “I didn’t expect you to be a friend, Sid.” He stated. “I thought you’d just come in, do you job and leave. I hope you realize just what kind of good you’ve done with this ship and crew.” Sidda looked over at him but didn’t move from her position. “To have an entire Turian crew look on you as an equal is no small feat…minus Cerrus of course.”

Sidda chuckled to his final comment but understood his meaning. “This is the first assignment I don’t want to leave from.” She stated and Maridus sighed understanding how she felt. 

“You’ll be missed, Sid.” He stated and Sidda gave him and reluctant nod. “I’ll see you later.”

Sidda smiled to his words but it didn’t make her feel much better. She was conflicted but had no choice but to leave. She finished collecting all her things and carried the trunk back to her quarters to be easily collected later. Things weighed on her mind but she remembered the last time she saw Victus, going off to find Nov and issue whatever warning he wanted about the knife. Turians were so damn territorial about mates but since Victus didn’t come unglued over the fact that she tried to mate with Nov she put it out of her mind.   
Nov was the one he should have been angry at not Cerrus but Cerrus took the brunt of Victus’ aggression. Sidda had thought she quelled his jealously but obviously not. They were from two different cultures and things were bound to grate. 

**

Now that she was finished collecting everything she had brought on board and put it in one central place she was free to go and find people she wanted to hang out with for the last two hours of her assignment. Nov was her best friend and the bond they shared wasn’t going to be easily forgotten. Something told her that she might want to check on him to make sure that the moody General of this ship didn’t damage him over nothing. When she didn’t find him in the Rec Room or the Training Room she figured that his wounds forced him back to Medical to relax. It took a great deal of time to get to the Bay considering she had been stopped by nearly everyone in passing to say goodbye. Sure enough she found Nov in Medical, as she entered Holum stood looking grumpier than he normally was. 

“You had one job, Commander.” He stated and Sidda narrowed her eyes to the doctors greeting he leveled at her. “Just one.”

“Huh?” she replied and Holum gestured to Nov precariously perched on his bed trying to rest. 

“I send him out with you and he comes back in pain. More pain than he should be.” He stated and Sidda’s brow furrowed. 

“I have no idea, Doc; I left him in the Rec Room with the guys so I could go pack.” She stated and Holum’s expression turned from her, still irritated. “Can I see him?”

Holum grunted a response largely to rid her from his presence. “Just try not to hurt him, Commander.”

Sidda snorted. “I make no promises, Doc.” She replied moving over to Nov. Much like the past few times she’d come to see him he opened one eye when she approached him. “Hey, you okay?” Sidda asked looking Nov up and down.

“Yeah.” He replied mustering the energy to sit up straight. “Yeah, I’m alright.” 

Sidda noticed that he was favoring his injury more than he was earlier and had to know that Holum’s painkillers lasted longer than that. “What happened?” she asked and saw the knife resting on the bed. 

“Nothing.” He replied but she didn’t believe him.

Her eyes narrowed. “Did Adrien do this?” she asked but it came across more like a demand. 

“It’s fine.” He replied and Sidda’s question was answered with his lack of response. 

Sidda didn’t like seeing Nov hurting because of Victus’ jealous fury though she got the feeling that he could have damaged Nov much more than this if he had a mind to. Still, it pissed her off. “So help me, I’m gonna beat that stubborn fucking Turian into the ground.”

Nov had to snort to her fire, she sounded like a Turian, a trait that drew Victus to her and he knew that. “Sid. Sid.” He said stopping her from leaving. “I know Victus will probably kill me for it but…it was a gift.”

Sidda looked at the knife he was handing to her. She took it from him and smiled. “Thanks.” She stated and clutched it in her hands tightly. “You rest, okay.” 

Nov watched her leave and shook his head to his irritation with himself, her, the situation, and the universe. All he had to do was tell her but he kept his mouth shut in what was probably the worst mistake of his life. He leaned back and grimaced to the pain but closed his eyes to rest like she told him. To say that he was going to miss her was the biggest understatement of the century. 

Sidda was on the fuming warpath after seeing Nov, who was already injured, in more pain than necessary at Victus’ hands. Sidda was gonna turn her beloved lover inside out, seeing Nov already injured was bad enough, seeing him even more injured because of Victus pissed her off. “Hey.” She snapped getting Victus’ attention before he headed into his office and backed him into the wall much like he did to Nov. “I do not need you pacing with your hackles up glowering at any man who gives me a gift.” She hissed and Victus looked down at her puzzled.

“What?” he asked the confusion evident in his voice. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about this.” She snapped and presented the knife he had given back to Nov on her behalf and shoved it into his chest. “It was a gift, a birthday gift, nothing more.”

“Sidda, I-…” he began and she held up her hand. 

“Att!” she barked. “You had no right to do that to him.” She scolded and Victus looked down at her. His female and felt even more attracted to her since she wasn’t afraid to stand toe to toe with him. “Do not ever do that to him again. He’s my friend, that’s it.”

Victus couldn’t help but let out a growl. “Sidda, I am not going to let him-…” he began and Sidda stood closer pointing a finger in his face. Victus straightened to her finger pointed close to his face and his expression narrowed. She was obviously mad at him, perhaps he overstepped a bound. 

“I do not respond well to jealousy, Adrien. Leave him alone.” She snapped to him but he opened his mouth to say something but her expression made him stop. “It’s a Human thing, Adrien, let it go.” She growled throwing those words back at Victus. “I mean it.”

He had to commend her on putting him in his place, he didn’t like it but Sidda had fire and determination. That was what attracted him in the first place, being in a relationship with a Human meant he needed to make certain concessions when it came to culture and traditions. “Alright.” He said allowing the concession. With her point clearly made Sidda’s glower lingered on him as she moved to walk away but Victus snatched right arm quickly. “But I won’t let things slide.”

Sidda looked down at his hand then back up at him. Turians were similar to posturing human males but instead of the behavior being frowned on in Turians it was expected. “Excuse me?” she demanded swatting his hand off her arm causing Victus to growl. 

“I will not stand by and let someone else give you a dowry.” He stated and Sidda cocked her head.

“A dowry? You think him giving me a knife is a dowry?” She questioned and Victus grumbled again.

“Since he’s from Rylo…yes.” Victus fired back. “The fact that you don’t even know is infuriating...” 

Sidda stepped toward him her posturing mirroring his. “Maybe because it was a gift, damnit, not some declaration of undying love.”

“Sidda, do not keep it.” Victus stated. His tone sounded more like a warning than anything else. 

“Do not tell me what to do, Adrien.” She snarled back, the defiance in her voice was evident. 

Victus could see this imploding if he wasn’t careful, he didn’t want to tank the relationship but he also wasn’t going to stand by and look like a fool with questionable action happening between his chosen female and a subordinate. “Sidda, I’m asking you not to keep that.” He decided to try the diplomatic card first and maybe he might not piss her off any more than she already was. They both had to learn how to compromise with each other. 

Sidda took a step back from her pride and anger and look at the situation objectively. If Victus was in a twist about this there was a reason and she needed to think about that. “Fine.” She stated and both of their postures seemed to relax. “Just don’t hurt anyone like you did Cal.” She warned and Victus gave her a nod, he felt a twinge of shame for his actions especially after hearing that he actually hurt his subordinate. 

Victus had a point. To the outside observer it was inappropriate for her to accept a gift like that especially if it upset her lover as much as it obviously had. This was a concession that she needed to make. She didn’t like it but she needed to make it, Nov’s gift was thoughtful and from the heart but she didn’t want to send the wrong signals or give the wrong idea to anyone. Honestly, she didn’t have the heart to walk up to her friend and give the weapon back so she took the cowards way out and left it on his bed in his quarters. Nov wasn’t gonna be please about that but he’d get over it, it was better than Victus not showing as much restraint as he had during his first encounter with Nov. She heaved a sigh and placed it on his bed ultimately making her decision to give Victus his concession. 

**

The mass relay spat out the Lante into the Arcturus Stream and Maridus sighed before pressing the comm button. “General,” he began. “we’re approaching Arcturus Station.”

“Very well, Major, begin docking procedures.” Victus stated quickly and Victus turned toward Sidda. 

She sighed and decided not to prolong the inevitable, she was set to leave and that was that. She grabbed one of the duffels and Victus grabbed the other one. “Its official…” she stated as they headed into the hall making their way toward the airlock. “I hate this.”

Victus snorted and walked next to her as they left. “Join the club.” He stated and Sidda shook her head with a soft chuckle. 

As the Lante docked with Arcturus Station, Sidda and Victus came round the corner and Sidda saw something she didn’t really expect. Argo and Centar teams assembled to see her off along with Maridus. She’d already seen everyone and said her goodbyes so having everyone see her off was a little surprising. She looked from them to Victus and then back again. 

Victus took her bag and headed to the airlock door as Sidda came across Cerrus first. She eyed him who eyed her back, she was uncertain of what he would say or do and frankly surprised as hell he was even there to see her off. “Bet you’re gonna be happy to get me out of here.” She stated and Cerrus remained silent as he thought a moment before extending his hand to her. 

“Well, you are a pain in the ass, but…it’s been a pleasure, Commander.” He stated as there was a certain amount of sincerity in his voice, he was being honest. 

She shook his hand with a firm grip and a nod to him. “Surprisingly…likewise, Captain, you’re a hell of a soldier.” Cerrus simply nodded an acknowledgement to her statement as he released her hand. 

Sidda didn’t know what to feel, nearly a year ago when she was getting pounded into the ground on a daily basis in the training room she couldn’t wait for the assignment to be over now she didn’t want to leave. She patted Masso’s arm on the way by and Kalvaris shook her hand with a respectful nod. Desala was next and she shook her hand firmly. Sidda and Desala had formed a bond over their training together. “Thanks for everything, Commander.” Desala stated and Sidda gave her a smile. 

“Keep working with Cerrus and you’ll be unstoppable on the field, Rekka.” She stated and the Oma Kerr native nodded to her. 

Desala nodded. “Good luck, Commander.” She replied.

“Don’t let Cerrus push you around.” She said to Ruvvak who simply chuckled. “You’re right about the guns.” She chuckled referencing their earlier conversation. 

“I’m always right about the guns.” He stated in a playful ‘everyone knows that’ tone. “And bombs and tactics…I’m the Sergeant, Commander, I’m right about everything.” 

The officers surrounding him all let out various cackles and snorts to express how they felt about that comment as Sidda laughed and patted his arm.

Next was Nov, her friend, ally, and partner in crime. The young Turian couldn’t wait to get his shoulder fixed and his coiled spring appearance reflected that, he was in pain. She stood in front of him and he looked down at her, a million and one things racing through his mind. The ship wasn’t going to be the same with her gone. “I hate goodbyes.” He stated making Sidda giggle. “Don’t be a stranger, Sid.”

She wanted to give him a hug but didn’t both out of fear of incurring Victus’ anger toward the other Turian and causing him more pain so she simply shook his hand firmly. “Drop me a line…I’ll take you to Earth, turn you loose on the population.”

Nov chuckled even though there was only one human female he wanted, her. “Poor girls.” He replied and she laughed. 

“Deliah…keep an eye on him will ya?” she said. “Make sure he doesn’t get dead.”

Rajin shook her hand as well. “Take care of yourself, Commander.”

“I guess things are gonna get a whole lot quieter around here with me gone.” Sidda stated to both Maridus and Victus. “You get your less chaotic ship back.”

“Well, Cerrus will be happy but the chaos will remain.” Maridus stated and followed suit with everyone else shaking her hand as she smiled up at him.

Maridus was her first friend, the first one to help her fit in, and the first to encourage the relationship with Victus. He would be the one she would miss the most. Nov’s humor and endless flirting was fun but it was Maridus that she would miss the most aside from Victus, the wise councilor that wasn’t afraid to speak his mind. In truth she’d miss them all but Maridus more than most. “Thanks for everything, Damar.” She stated and actually pulled that Turian into a hug.

“Anytime, Sid.” He replied and she stepped back from him. “Be careful.”

“You too.”

Victus was last; they had talked in depth about keeping contact. Coordination was going to be a bitch they they’d figure it out. “Well, this is it.” She stated as they both maintained the professional decorum. 

“It’s been interesting, Commander.” He said and Sidda chuckled. That was putting it mildly, she turned his world upside down from the moment he met her. 

“I’ll let you know where I land.” She stated and he simply nodded.

“Major.” He said simply and Maridus made a noise that drew the others to attention.

“Cdr. Shepard, departing.” Maridus announced as what was not an apparent honor guard saluted with the exception of Nov. A smile spread across her face, she couldn’t help it, how far she had come to receive that kind of sendoff. 

“Good luck, Commander.” Victus stated as Sidda stepped through the airlock and through to Arcturus’ letting it scan her and cycle through. She collected her bags that Victus had set in the airlock and passed onto the station after the decontamination program was finished. 

“Commander,” an Alliance officer greeted as the door opened. “welcome to Arcturus.”

Sidda nodded with a smile. She didn’t know which was odder; the fact that she was surprised to see another human or the fact that she found that surprise strange. In that moment she realized just how long she’d spend on that Turian ship. 

“This way, Commander, I’ll show you to your quarters.” The officer stated and took one of her bags.

“Fantastic…then show me the nearest restaurant.” She replied. She was going to miss that ship and the crew, after a year they had become more like family to her than anything else. It was a shame that they couldn’t stay but Victus was on the clock and had to get to Palaven both to get chewed out and to get Nov to the professionals he needed. She’d adjust and eventually be transferred back to Earth after her download to the Brass. Since her mission was cut short she figured she had a day or two before Anderson found her on Arcturus. There was no doubt that she was going to fill those off days with every restaurant she could find.

Two days after her departure from the Lante, Sidda was greeted by Anderson and gave her report to him then submitted her written report to the Brass. She was taken back to Earth and given a whole lot of shore leave while she awaited her next assignment.

It took Victus a little longer to get away from Palaven then he initially thought, he was grounded and his crew given shore leave while the Primarch took his anger out on his insubordinate subordinate. Months passed as Nov remained in and out of the primary military hospital in Cipritine. The forced R&R gave Victus the perfect opportunity to visit Sidda on Arcturus. They spent two weeks on the station together before both were recalled back to their respective places.


	18. Muscle Car of the Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the beginning of Part Two: Chasing Saren. Chapters 18-34.

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Part Two: Chasing Saren  
Chapter Eighteen: Muscle Car of the Stars

 

The success of the Sidda’s mission was evident in the prototype war machine the two militaries created. The SSV Normandy was one of a kind…faster, tougher, and more powerful than any other Alliance frigate in service perhaps ever built. Built within a year of Sidda’s completion of her assignment the ingenuity that went into the design of the ship showed what Humans and Turians could accomplish when they worked together. Sidda was teaching at the Academy when she received her orders, first officer of the brand new ship. That was either a pat on the back for a job well done or a publicity stunt seeing as how she was one of the people instrumental in getting it built. Once again serving with Anderson was a relief; she wasn’t the best officer to get to know. Even before her time with the Turians she was a little hard on CO’s, she was strong willed and knew how to get things done. At least Anderson knew how to deal with that. 

Over the past year Sidda was given no active assignment, she spent time at the academy as an interim instructor and the rest was a much needed and well-earned vacation. Before being sent to Earth to take her place on the swanky new ship she spent a week on Palaven with Victus. She was pretty sure that Victus had never taken so much leave in his whole career since every time he ran into someone he knew they looked at him like he was crazy when he said he was on leave. Aside from Victus, Sidda hadn’t seen anyone else from the Lante. 

**

The room full of academy cadets watched from the sidelines as their instructor demonstrated how to fight like a Turian. The Brass had decided that her now extensive knowledge in hand to hand combat was worth placing her in charge of the Close Quarters Battle or CQB class in addition to a Combat Tactics class she taught. 

She employed techniques that she’d learned and dropped one of the cadets on the floor with a hardy thud. “Staying out of a Turian’s reach is the best defense when engaged in hand to hand with them.” She stated and helped pull the cadet to his feet. 

“Aren’t the Turians our allies now?” one of them asked. “Why do we need to know how to fight them?”

“Because not all Turians are allies, plenty of Mercs and slavers are Turians and damn near all of them have military training.” She stated. “You don’t have to be fighting a Turian for their techniques to come in handy.”

“You spent a year on their ship, Commander, why would they teach you how to fight like them?” another cadet asked. 

“The Turians taught me more than just how to fight but their goal with me, as with any member of the crew, was create a battlemaster than can hold out in any fight with or without weapons.” Sidda explained. “Trust me, their training is extremely efficient.” 

The chime went off indicating that the class time was over and she saw her class begin to collect their things. “Commander, we hear you’ve been assigned to the prototype frigate…you won’t be teaching us anymore.” A cadet stated and Sidda shrugged to him. 

“Until Adm. Anderson gets tired of me and gives be back…or the prototype explodes because it didn’t work right.” She replied dryly causing a group of her students to chuckle.   
“Who’s taking over the class?” another asked and Sidda shook her head. 

“I’m not sure.” She replied. The class had always been over the moon about Sidda being their instructor, after implementing a heavy fine for anyone who referred to her as the ‘Hero of Elysium’ all of her classes began to gel. “Just try not to give me a bad reputation for misbehaving.” She requested and the group laughed again.

“Commander, by your reputation I think we should be asking you that.” A female cadet with short black hair stated and Sidda chuckled to them. She was going to miss teaching, at first she didn’t really want to but when she got into a groove she actually found it kind of fun, but things were different now. Now she was the first officer on the newest ship in the fleet. 

A few hours later she transferred all her duties and made her way to her temporary quarters to pack. As she squared away all her belongings she chatted with her Turian lover. She would have preferred to talk to him in person but seeing his face spread across the monitor would have to do. “So you get to be the first officer on the prototype our governments created.” Victus stated and Sidda nodded as she folded up the clothes and placed them in the bag. 

“The SSV Normandy; she’s supposed to be pretty bad ass.” She stated. “Top of the line in everything. I can’t wait to see it.”

“I can’t imagine you as an executive officer.” Victus replied as he sorted through a few datapads that had accumulated on his desk. 

Sidda paused and looked at the screen. “What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked. 

“You’re beyond stubborn, opinionated, hardheaded, and trouble finds you wherever you go…I certainly wouldn’t want you as my first officer.” He stated bluntly and scoffed. “I have enough problems with Damar…as independent as he is.”

Sidda laughed as she went back to what she was doing, filling the duffle with her clothes and trinkets. “Then lucky for you I’m in the Alliance not the Turian Military.” She smirked. “There’s no way you could handle me as an XO.”

Victus grunted an agreement to that. “I can think of many ways to have you under me and that’s not one of them so you’ll get no disagreement from me.” He stated and Sidda turned to him with a cock of her head. 

“Wow, too bad you’re so far away.” She stated with a smile. “Where are you anyway?”

Victus purred to the thoughts that were running through his head. “You know I can’t tell you that, Sid.” He stated. 

Sidda knew his reply even before she asked the question and nodded, changing the topic. “So, these ‘ways of having me under you’…care to share?” she asked with a flirty smile and a suggestive tone. She really should pack but having a dirty conversation with her lover sounded like much more fun.

He purred again and was about to regale her with every dirty little thing he’d like to do to her but their conversation was interrupted by Maridus’ voice over the Lante’s intercom. “Gen. Victus, please report to CIC. Gen. Victus, please report to the CIC.”

Sidda groaned. “He always did have epically bad timing.” she droned and Victus chuckled. 

“Hmm…” he replied. “I’ll see what I can do about that.” He said and he tapped a few keys on the pad he was tinkering with. “Until next time, Sidda, I love you.”

Sidda smiled and few her cheeks flush a little. “I love you too. Be careful, Adrien.”

“You as well.” He said and tapped the screen making it go black. 

Sidda lingered looking at the blank screen and sighed. She really did miss him and would prefer to be with him rather than packing up for a new assignment even if it was on the brand new frigate. She resumed her task and then headed to the shuttle that would take her to her new home. 

On her shuttle ride to the prototype Sidda observed the ship as it came into view, she could see the Turian aspect in its design though its outward appearance was predominantly human in design. Inside she felt like she was at home, the Normandy was set up almost exactly like the Lante was but nearly half the size. She may have been a small ship but she was designed to pack a punch. Her claim to fame was the drive core. Oversized and stuffed into the back like the souped up muscle cars of old, muscle car of the stars…that was the Normandy. She was also equipped with a stealth system, which was going to make Special Ops missions a hell of a lot easier if it performed like they said it would. Overall Sidda was as excited as a kid on Christmas to see how the prototype performed. 

Anderson handed Sidda a cup of coffee as he briefed her on what was going on. “We’ll also be having a Turian observer along.” He stated and knew Sidda was the one crew member he knew wouldn’t be angry or offended by a Turian presence on the ship. 

Sidda took a gulp of the hot cup of bad coffee. “Who’s the Turian?” she asked, wondering if it was anyone she knew. 

“Nihlus Kryik.” Anderson answered and Sidda grinned. This mission kept getting better and better. “I take it you know him?”

Sidda chuckled lightly. “Yes, Sir, he’s a Spectre. I met him a few times when I was on the Lante.” She replied. “Good man…hell of a soldier if not a little bit of a disaster magnet.”  
“On par with you then.” He stated and Sidda scoffed.

“Funny.” Sidda replied. “You sent me into that snake pit, don’t forget about that.” She added making Anderson laugh. “Shouldn’t be a problem with Nihlus, he’s quiet, driven, don’t expect him to throw a party or anything.”

“Well, he should be here around 0800 tomorrow morning.” Anderson said and Sidda nodded with a smile. Outside she was professional but inside she was jumping for joy, the chance to see Nihlus again was like a shot in the arm for her. This past year had been downright boring and she knew that if Nihlus was coming there was a better than average chance of seeing some action since he was exactly what she had described…a disaster magnet. 

**

After her quick briefing with Anderson Sidda sat in the Mess sipping some coffee and reading a letter from her mother, typical stuff really; her mother was keeping her up to date on life, hounding her about meeting Victus and informing her that her father would go nuclear if he was still alive and knew his daughter was seeing a Turian. Sidda wasn’t trying to keep Victus from meeting anyone but she was trying to preserve the relationship, she didn’t know how ‘meet the parents’ was supposed to go with Turians. 

“Commander?” a voice said drawing her attention from what she was reading. She looked up to see a quite handsome man standing before her. He was about 5’11” with black hair and brown eyes with a voice that had a husky voice that nearly made her toes curl. She may have been ruined for Human men but that didn’t mean she didn’t find them attractive, especially this one. 

“Yes.” She answered looking him up and down. She could tell that he was fit by the way his clothes fit him but quickly shut down the inquiring side of her brain. 

“Lt. Kaidan Alenko, Commander.” He introduced with a salute that Sidda returned and gestured for him to sit. 

“Siddalee Shepard.” She replied as Kaidan sat down across from her. 

“It’s truly an honor, Commander.” He said and Sidda tried to stop herself from rolling her eyes. She was proud of what she did on Elysium but was frankly irritated with the fame it brought her. Kaidan chuckled sound almost embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Commander, I’m sure you hear that a lot.”

Sidda was the one who should be embarrassed, or at the very least a little shamed, by her eye roll to the junior officer and blushed a little. “Yeah, a little bit, I’m even famous among the Turians for it.” She replied. “I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be.” He said waving her off. “I’ve just never met a living legend before. I always thought the ‘Hero of Elysium’ would be different somehow. You’re an inspiration to biotics.”

Sidda cocked her head. “You’re a biotic?” she asked her curiosity peaked.

“Yes, ma’am.” He replied proudly. “Biotic, Marine, and Medic.”

“Jack of all trades, huh?” Sidda smiled, it had been a while since she served with another biotic. Desala was the last and those she instructed at the academy didn’t really count. She was actually looking forward to working with another biotic. 

“Cdr. Shepard to CIC. Cdr. Shepard to CIC.” Joker’s voice said over the comm cutting their conversation short. 

“Sorry.” She stated her tone friendly and her smile sweet. “I look forward to working with you, Lieutenant.” She said and offered to shake his hand.

Kaidan nodded to her giving her a firm handshake. “As do I, Commander.” 

Sidda waited at the airlock door for the guest to finish cycling through. When the door opened she grinned seeing the red and black armor of an old friend. “Nihlus Kryik.” She greeted and he looked down at her, his huge frame looming over her.

“Commander.” He greeted in a light tone and extended his hand out to her. 

“Been a long time, Nihlus.” She stated shaking his hand with a firm grip. “How the hell are you?”

“Fine, Commander, just fine.” He stated and Sidda couldn’t figure out how to wipe the smile off her face, she was really happy to see him.

“It’s nice to know that you could go a year without me having to rescue you.” She sniped and Nihlus adjusted the bag he had slung over his shoulder. 

“It was tough, Commander, but I managed.” He stated and Sidda chuckled. 

“And he cracks a joke.” She laughed. “We’re off to a great start. Welcome to the SSV Normandy, Nihlus. Care for a tour?”

Nihlus nodded. “Of course.”

**

As they walked and Sidda pointed out various things on the ship she also found it necessary to catch up with the long lost friend. The last time she saw him he was leaving the Lante after nearly being killed by a creative form of torture. Over the year she had gotten a few tidbits of information on him and one really big thing that she was stuck on Earth for and wound up missing.

“How’s Delaih?” she asked and Nihlus as they walked down the steps to the crew deck. 

“She’s fine.” He replied simply. “She’s on the Lante and asked me to say hello.”

Sidda nodded and looked up at him. “I’m sorry I missed the ceremony. They had me at the academy and I couldn’t get away.” 

Nihlus waved it off. “It’s alright, the General was there. Told us where you were.”

Sidda groaned, it still pissed her off that she missed it. She tried her best to get away from the Academy for a few days but the Brass wouldn’t have it. “Would have loved to see how a Turian wedding goes.” 

“I’ve seen your Human…weddings, as you call them, nothing quite so lengthy.” He stated and Sidda narrowed her eyes. 

“No party?” she asked and Nihlus scoffed. 

“Oh, no, there was a party…a very long party.” He stated and his tone made Sidda chuckle. 

“So what you’re telling me is that your people have a short ceremony and long ass reception?” she simplified and Nihlus chuckled. 

“Yeah…honestly, I don’t remember a lot of it.” He stated and Sidda chuckled. 

“A drunk Nihlus…on his wedding day…that would have been a sight.” She laughed and Nihlus rolled his eyes with a snort. So many people saw him as ridged and serious about his work…if she only knew the side of him that most of the Lante crew saw. The fun prankster that gave Nov a run for his money and the guy who joked with Maridus day in and day out until there were so many inside jokes floating around only they could keep them straight. The Lante was the only ship where he felt accepted but being a Spectre was what he was born to do.

“Oh, Commander, you have a lot to learn about me.” He stated and Sidda looked up at him with a furrowed brow. 

“Just how long do you plan on being on this ship?” she asked and Nihlus snorted. 

“Not that long, Commander.” He replied as they made it to the bottom step and entered the Crew Deck. 

“Officer on deck.” She heard someone announce and everyone dropped what they were doing and stood at attention. 

“At ease.” She stated. “Carry on.” Military protocol never used to bother her but since serving a year on a slightly more relaxed ship she didn’t see the point of having people drop what they were doing simply because she walked into the room. She approached the officer who announced her presence. It was Kaidan, the officer she’d met earlier. “Lieutenant, you don’t have to do that every time I walk in the room.”

Kaidan seemed to blush when she smiled to him and Nihlus narrowed his eyes. He may not have been an expert on human relations or even his own for that matter but he could tell Kaidan was attracted to her. “Sorry, Commander, habit.”

Sidda nodded to him, she preferred the relaxed atmosphere she’d gotten used to on the Lante. “Lieutenant, this is Nihlus Kryik, Council Spectre. Nihlus, this is Lt. Kaidan Alenko.”  
Nihlus simply nodded to Kaidan. “Lieutenant.”

“Sir.” Kaidan replied both of them be brief but respectful to the other. 

**

Nihlus surveyed the ship, small compared to other frigates he’d seen or served on. The design was somewhat familiar because of the Turian side but parts of it still seemed alien. The stealth drive was the aspect he was very curious about but then again so were the rest of the Alliance, Turians, and the Council. If it worked like it was supposed to it would drastically change covert missions for everyone who had access to the technology.

They stepped off the slowest elevator in existence and she could see Nihlus’ irritation about how slow the freight elevator was. Engineering was an interesting stop, Nihlus was no engineer but he marveled at the Tantalus Drive Core. Top of the line and twice the size of a normal frigates core, it truly was a stroke of engineering genius.

After that, it was the Cargo Bay, not much to look at as it was supposed to be functional not aesthetically pleasing. Nihlus cocked his head to the vehicle parked in the bay. The Mako, a human APC that was as tough as they came. “Well, what do you think?” Sidda asked as she showed Nihlus to the locker that he could store his stuff in. 

“It’s an impressive little ship, Commander.” He stated and stored the small bag in the locker. 

Sidda huffed and shook her head. “Nihlus, if you don’t start calling me ‘Sidda’ I might have to kill you.” She stated and she could have sworn she saw Nihlus smile.

“Many have tried…Commander.” He stated and Sidda’s expression turned to slight surprise. He was playing with her. She’d heard that he had a sense of humor but figured he was one of those that only joked with people he was comfortable around. 

“And none were me.” She replied and paused looking to her then back to the locker. “I could do with a little physical exertion kicking your ass.”

Nihlus scoffed. “How about a little physical exertion now, Commander?”

Sidda’s expression narrowed as she cocked her head to him. “Poor choice of words for a dirty minded Turian lover like me.” She stated and Nihlus dropped his gaze to her and followed it with a grumble. She figured he wouldn’t find that amusing but she sure did. “Alright, Spectre Kryik…let’s go. I haven’t sparred with a Turian in a year.”

Nihlus moved out into the middle of the bay near the Mako. “Not even with Victus?” he questioned and Sidda snorted as she stretched out her back before they began. 

“Umm…generally that’s not the type of ‘sparring’ Adrien and I do when I finally get to see him.” She stated and received a chuckle from the stoic Turian. 

“Believe me, I can understand that.” He replied. For the better part of his life he had random encounters of companionship and intimacy and he was okay with that. Nearly dying in the Batarian pit caused him to reevaluate his life and he came to the stark realization that he was all alone. Yes, he had friends but no one that loved him or that he loved in return. Since that day he could not think of anyone else other than the woman who kept him alive. For as long as he’d known her he never gave a relationship a thought, now he kicked himself for being so blind. 

Sidda giggled to his tone as she backed up a little to give him some space. “Aww…do you miss Deliah?” she teased and she saw Nihlus narrow his gaze. 

“Stop that.” He stated and Sidda mirrored his fighting stance. 

She had no idea what she was getting into, she had never sparred with Nihlus, she had seen him fight on both Nebewa and Terra Nova and understood all too well just how devastating he was. A few minutes into their spar she discovered that perhaps it was a bad idea to spar with him. Nihlus was good…really good. Sidda had sparred with enough Turians to pick apart his fighting style; he was calm, calculating and very precise. His accuracy was vicious but he wasn’t as downright brutal as Cerrus. After being on the Lante long enough she was also able to rank who hit the hardest. Ruvvak won that prize by a light-year, his hit felt that she had been smacked by an anvil, that being said Nihlus was a rival. The power he put into his hits were controlled but carried his full weight behind it, and for as big as he was he was quite nimble, but Sidda’s size was her advantage. 

Nihlus was impressed with her prowess but expected nothing less from her. If she came away from a year on a Turian ship and didn’t learn how to fight like one his opinion of her would have dwindled to zero. He knew who taught her and had a general idea about her moves but he was happily surprised by how unpredictable she was. Sidda wasn’t controlled like a Turian, she fought with tenacity but skilled tenacity, she never gave up and didn’t back down. 

Sidda was a little rusty but Nihlus’ advance quickly shook the rust off as she matched his strikes with perfect blocks. Her string of precision ended when Nihlus swatted a block away and spun his back toward her decking her with a controlled elbow hit to the right side of the head with his right elbow. She staggered away her hand going to the now sore side of her skull. That was a light hit from him but it still hurt like a son of a bitch. 

“Fuck…” she growled hissing away the pain from the impact site.

“Had enough?” Nihlus asked, his tone reflecting a smrik and Sidda’s expression turned to an almost insulted glare. 

“Cerrus couldn’t beat it out of me so I’m reasonably sure you can’t.” she replied dryly as she returned to her position in front of him setting up for another attack. 

Nihlus mused slightly. “Don’t be so sure, Commander.” He stated knowing that still not using her first name like she asked who infuriate her. 

Several hours after Nihlus came aboard the mission got underway. Sidda still had no idea why they were heading to Eden Prime and Anderson hadn’t told her anything. She got the sneaking suspicion that there was something going on between Nihlus and Anderson that they weren’t telling her. First of all she really didn’t buy Nihlus coming along as an ‘observer’, why would the Council send their best Spectre to babysit the SSV Normandy’s shakedown cruise? And what was this mission to Eden Prime all about? Eden Prime was a simply farming colony; it flourished like Terra Nova and never really had any issues to speak of. All things being said none of this mission made any sense, she liked seeing Nihlus but she would like to have the whole story.

**

Sidda made her way up to the cockpit of the Normandy as Joker piloted the prototype through the Charon Relay. She appeared next to Nihlus who was quietly observing and said nothing to him. He was a stoic guy and didn’t care too much for chit chat unless he had something to say. Although he hadn’t said anything since he arrived to observe Joker’s piloting skills and operation of the technological marvel his people helped build his presence was almost menacing. His size and predatory appearance made him hard to ignore.

“Thrusters: check. Navagation: check. Internal emissions sync: check. All systems online. Drift: just under 1500k.” Joker stated as he ran through the checklist after the jump. The ship’s paint was barely dry and she was already on a mission so making sure everything was functioning normally was a high priority, especially with the oversize drive core and the experimental stealth system. Both things could blow the Normandy and her crew to cosmic dust if something went wrong and Sidda didn’t survive this long with all the things that she’d been through just to be taken out by experimental technology. 

“1500 is good.” Nihlus stated, satisfied with how Joker handled the ship. “You’re captain will be please.” He added turning away to leave the bridge. 

“Nihlus.” She greeted as his eyes found her while turning away from Joker.

“Commander.” He replied, the man was nothing if not predictable. She had decided to make it a point to get Nihlus to call her by her first name this mission, a daunting task. “If you’ll excuse me.”

“I hate that guy.” Joker stated a few seconds later, counting on the Turian to be out of earshot. Sidda’s brow furrowed to the comment but she said nothing, everyone was entitled to their opinion and Nihlus did have that effect on people. He didn’t project a very friendly demeanor. 

Kaidan shook his head from his seat at Navigation to the right. “Nihlus gave you a compliment…so you hate him?” Sidda was content to listen to the exchange between them, she was still learning about the crew and so far she had no issues. She felt that the biggest issue was going to be Nihlus and people’s opinions of Turians. After her year on a Turian ship he felt like she owed Nihlus the same hospitality that they showed her when they finally accepted her as an equal. 

Joker was aptly nicknamed though Sidda didn’t know him well. She knew that he was the one who piloted the Normandy during its test flight at Arcturus. The story was that Joker’s application had been snubbed by the Turian General Invectus who discounted him because he was a cripple. Joker then took it upon himself to hijack the prototype, locked the real pilot away and took the ship out by himself leading the Alliance escort on a merry chase to catch them. Joker was eventually caught and damn near got court martialed but Invictus defended his skill and prowess as a fight. The tale was one told a lot on the ship. If Joker knew about it he said nothing and Sidda had never asked him directly. “You remember to zip up your flight suit on the way out of the bathroom that’s good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pin head…that’s incredible.” Joker defended and Sidda let out a quiet, airy chuckle to that analogy. He was cocky, but she’d never known a pilot who wasn’t. “Besides, Spectres are trouble. I don’t like having them onboard. Call me paranoid.”

“You’re paranoid.” Kaidan replied without missing a beat, he took the words right out of Sidda’s mouth so again she remained silent. “The council helped fund this project; they have the right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment.”

Joker grunted as he tapped a few more buttons on his console. “That is the ‘official’ story, but only an idiot believes the ‘official’ story.”

“Joker, Nihlus is a good man…you don’t have anything to worry about with him.” She stated and Joker looked over his shoulder quickly then back down to the screen as if she startled him. 

“I’m telling ya, Commander, there’s more going on here than a simple shakedown run. I know Nihlus is your friend but why would the Council send him to babysit us?” he said making a valid point but before Sidda or Kaidan could think up a response the comm line activated.

“Joker, status report.” Anderson said, sharply.

“Just cleared the Mass Relay, Captain, stealth systems engaged. Everything looks solid.” Joker reported back quickly and Sidda grimaced to a few aches in her body from sparring with Nihlus. This was what she didn’t miss. 

“Good. Find a Comm Buoy and link us into the network.” Anderson ordered. “I want mission reports relayed back to Command before we reach Eden Prime.”

“Aye, aye, Sir. Better brace yourself; I think Nihlus is headed your way.” Joker warned but his warning wasn’t received with gratitude.

“He’s already here.” He informed now sounding rather annoyed with his pilot as Kaidan shook his head to the hot water that Joker might be in now. “Tell Cdr. Shepard to meet me in the Comm room for a debriefing.”

Joker sheepishly cleared his throat. “Did you catch that, Commander?”

Sidda snorted and shook her head to Jokers antics. “Well, see, now you pissed him off.”

“Captain always sounds like that when he’s talking to me.” Joker replied, seemingly unbothered by the embarrassment he may have caused himself at Nihlus’ behalf. 

“Can’t possibly imagine why.” Kaidan replied and Sidda chuckled to the Lieutenants tone. 

**

The Normandy was set up a lot like the Lante, in all honesty it was set up like a Turian frigate and they were identical in design. The Lante was bigger than most but they all had the same design. Cockpit up front, CIC in the middle and then the War Room, or at least it was the War Room on the Lante, on the Normandy it was the Briefing/Comm Room. She was able to chat with various crew members on the way by; there was Pressley, the Navigator who was just as uneasy about Nihlus being around as Joker. So long as she didn’t hear any racial talk against the Turians or Nihlus specifically she was content to let people’s opinions be. Dr. Chakwas was an interesting woman, the ships chief Medical officer and quite seasoned at her job. Then there was the hot headed soldier named Jenkins, fortunately he was from Eden Prime, which might just come in handy for whatever reason they were heading to Eden Prime, which she still didn’t know. Hopefully, all her questions would be answered so she could put the crew at ease, so far she’d heard a dozen different theories as to why they were going and taking a Spectre with them. She was curious to figure out who was right and who would cash in on the bet that had to be floating around the ship. Someone had to have a bet going, hell it’s what she’d do.

She opened the door to the Comm room and found Nihlus pacing back and forth, he did like to pace but as she noticed…all Turians liked to pace. None of them liked to stand still for very long, they had to be doing something which she guessed was the reason for both galactic peace and war. As a general rule a bored Turian was very bad. 

“Commander,” he greeted and Sidda grumbled, she may just have to break his arm to get him to call her by her first name. “I was hoping you’d get here first.” 

That statement made her eyes narrow. “Something wrong?” she asked stepping toward him as the door closed behind her. 

“Not at all.” He assured and started to pace again. “I’m curious about this world we’re going to. Eden Prime. I hear it’s quite beautiful.”

Sidda nodded with a slight shrug. She couldn’t speak from firsthand experience but she told him what she knew. “It’s a paradise…so I’m told; I’ve actually never been there.” Being born on ships she’s been most places but that didn’t mean every colony.

Nihlus stopped moving and looked at her. “Yes…a paradise. Serene, tranquil, safe…Eden Prime has become something of a symbol for your people hasn’t it, proof that not only can you establish colonies but you can protect them as well?” he said and turned from her clasping his hands behind his back. Sidda wasn’t sure where he was going with this and her expression narrowed further. “But how safe is it really?”

That was it that was the straw. She was through dancing around this. “Alright, what are you getting at?”

Nihlus heard her suspicious and slightly irritated tone and turned toward her with the truth. “Your people are still newcomers, Sidda, the galaxy can be a very dangerous place.” He said a folded his arms across his chest. “Is the Alliance truly ready for this?”

She blinked, both at the fact that he used her first name and what he said made very little sense with a lack of context. “In Spectre school is there a class you take to become this vague or is it a gift?”

Nihlus let out a chuckle to that. “Gift.” He replied making another joke. Sidda was slowly peeling back the layers on him and he was starting to open up more.

“And he cracks another joke…Nihlus, I’m impressed.” She giggled. 

The door opened behind Sidda as Anderson strode in. The two tall men dwarfed her and she felt like she did when she was surrounded by Turians. “I think it’s about time we tell the Commander what’s really going on.”

Sidda groaned, that was not the way to start a conversation. Who started a conversation like that? “Yeah, that doesn’t wound ominous at all.” She droned sarcastically.

“This mission is far more than a shakedown run.” Nihlus began and Sidda put on her best sardonic tone to match her expression. 

“No, really?” she replied quickly, she’d already come to that conclusion long ago. “First of all you’re here…I know you missed your favorite human, Nihlus, but not enough to babysit the Normandy on her maiden voyage.”

Inwardly, Nihlus was amused by her statement but maintained his stoic professionalism. “We’re making a covert pick up on Eden Prime, that’s why we needed the stealth drive.” Anderson informed, moving past Sidda’s sense of humor and prodding toward Nihlus.

“And the reason why your first officer was shut out of the loop, Sir?” she asked, Anderson knew that question was coming and had lobbied for her to be brought in on this a little earlier so he didn’t spring it on her all at once. 

“This one came down from the top, Commander, strictly need to know.” He replied. “A research team unearthed some kind of beacon on Eden Prime, a Prothean Beacon.”

Protheans…the race that gave the humans interstellar travel with just a small data cache found on Mars. They were the advanced race in recorded history that vanished 50,000 years ago but their legacy remained, all the races that existed were built on Prothean tech. This was important, especially is this ‘beacon’ was still intact. “Prothean…huh…well I can see why they sent someone to pick it up.”

Nihlus was impressed by her quick deduction of the situation; he was expecting a question about why the Humans didn’t keep it for themselves. She truly wasn’t like any human he’d ever heard of. She thought about the big picture not just about personal gain and he respected her for that. “Obviously this goes beyond mere Human interests, Commander. I think you know that.”

Sidda nodded. “Prothean technology benefits everyone.” She stated and Nihlus kept his arms folded across his chest. It was time for the other news. 

“The beacon isn’t the only reason I’m here, Sidda.” He said and she had to smile at the two for two use of her first name. 

There was a pause as Anderson spoke up next. “Nihlus wants to see you in action, Commander.”

She raised her eyebrows; did he lose his memory after his torture? “What? More action?” she asked, her question more directed toward Nihlus.

“He’s here to evaluate you.” Anderson continued.

Sidda’s expression narrowed, Nihlus had already seen her in ‘action’ three times…well, two and a half since he was teetering on death the third time. “Evaluate me for what?”

“Humanity has been pushing for this for a long time. We want a larger role in shaping interstellar policy. We want more say with the Council and the Spectres represent the Citadels power and authority. If they accept a human into their ranks…it shows how far the Alliance has come.” Anderson explained, he was still beating around the bush and if someone didn’t get to the point soon Sidda was going to start beating someone until they did. 

“Wait a minute, what are you saying?” she asked, he was talking about the Spectres. Why would he be talking about the Spectres? There were no Human Spectres and probably wouldn’t be for a very long time. 

Now it was Nihlus’ turn to speak up. He stepped toward her and looked down at the small human. “You held off a staggering enemy force during the Blitz. You showed not only courage but incredible skill. Your Biotics prevented Maridus and I from being killed, you adapted to the situation on Terra Nova, and you saved my life on Ihm’Shal. That’s why I put your name forward as a candidate for the Spectres.”

Sidda blinked, surprised colored her face. “You put my name forward? But I’m Human…why would you do that?” She kicked herself for that question. “Well, that was dumbest thing you could have asked a man you call your friend.” She thought to herself. 

Nihlus saw nothing wrong with the question and happily answered it. “Not all Turians resent humans. Some of us see great potential in your species. Your mission on the Lante did its job, Commander, an entire ship of the most highly trained people in the Turian military looked to you like a comrade in arms who was willing to lay down her life for them and I for one can vouch for your skills. The Spectres are an elite group; it’s rare to find an individual with the skill set we seek. I don’t care that you’re human, Sidda, I only care that you can do the job.”

“Humanity needs this, Commander, and you’re the best person for the job.” Anderson put in and Sidda shifted her eyes from Nihlus to Anderson. 

She scoffed and scratched her forehead. “Sir, the last time you said those exact words to me a week later I was on a Turian ship for a year.” She said and Anderson let out a chuckle.

“I’ll need to observe your command and combat skills. Eden Prime will be the first of several missions together.” Nihlus said and Sidda returned her attention to the tall Turian. 

“Nihlus, you’ve already seen me in combat.” She stated. 

She had a point but he was like to see her do more than a wild goose chase, a political mess, and a rescue mission that he honestly didn’t remember much of. “I want to see more.”

With that Sidda nodded and Anderson continued the briefing. “You will lead the ground team, Commander, go in and secure the beacon. Quietly. The Attican Traverse isn’t the friendliest neighborhood and this might just be tempting enough for the Terminus system start a war over.”

“Captain, we’ve got a problem.” Joker cut in over the comm. 

“What is it, Joker?” Anderson asked the disembodied voice. 

“Transmission from the planet…you gotta see this.” Joker stated and the view screen came alive as Anderson gave the order to put it through. 

The screen changed to a distorted recording, there was obvious gunfire and what looked like a Marine squad. As expected things were chaotic but the general gist was that they were under attack by something. Sidda watched as both Anderson and Nihlus did the same, her eyes narrowed to a confusing image as it flashed across the screen for a second and then disappeared, it looked like a giant black hand reaching down the from the sky. The transmission lasted less than a minute and it cut out to static and white noise. 

“That’s all there is, Captain, everything cuts out from there. I’m not getting comm chatter from the planet at all.” Joker stated.

“Reverse and hold at 38.5.” The screen rolled back and paused on strange looking ship that was shaped like a giant hand.

“What the hell is that?” she said out loud and glanced over to Nihlus, his eyes were fixated on the monitor and she could hear his mandible click and sign that the Turian was uneasy about something. 

“Suit up, Commander, I want that beacon on board as soon as possible but do it quietly.” Anderson ordered. “Tell Alenko and Jenkins to gear up, you’re going down as soon as we get there.”

Sidda nodded and patted Nihlus’ arm indicating she was ready to go. The two of them left the comm room and Nihlus headed for the cargo bay as Sidda collected her men. She ordered Jenkins to follow Nihlus and trotted up to the Bridge to grab Kaidan. They all geared up and prepped for their first mission together.


	19. Eden Prime

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

 

Chapter Nineteen: Eden Prime

 

The Normandy broke Eden Prime’s atmosphere as Sidda paced Nihlus with Kaidan and Jenkins behind her. Seeing Sidda in her trademark black and yellow armor brought back some memories for Nihlus, somehow seeing her decked out in her armor and loaded with weapons confirmed his backing of her joining the Spectres. 

“Go in secure the Beacon and get the hell out of there, Commander.” Anderson stated. “Secondary priority is to find out what the hell is going on down there.”

Sidda nodded as she checked her pistol then tucked it away on her side. “Alright, Nihlus, you’re with me…Alenko, Jenkins take-…”

“No, Commander, I’ll scout ahead.” Nihlus stated as the bay door began to open. 

“Oh, no. No, no…Nihlus, you’re not going alone.” Sidda stated and Nihlus didn’t seem to care. These two were going to suss out just who was in charge sometime during their ‘time’ together. Nihlus was used to working alone and Sidda was used to being in charge, a nasty mix. They were both stubborn, Nihlus was born that way and the Lante made Sidda’s worse.

“I’ll be fine.” Nihlus stated and snorted, she’d heard that before. 

“You always say that and then you never are.” She stated. “I’m still waiting for a mission with you that doesn’t involve gunfire.” 

Nihlus growled and glared down at her. “This is not up for debate, Commander.” Nihlus scolded in a raised tone. “I will scout ahead and meet you at the Beacon.”

Sidda’s temper nearly flared, she didn’t like being cut off like that. This was her mission and he was the observer but here he was putting her in her place and refusing back up. 

“Let us back you up.” Kaidan said and Nihlus shook his head, he’d made his decision. He checked his shotgun.

“I’m better on my own.” He stated and Sidda grumbled to the most stubborn Turian she’d ever met.

The ship slowed to a rate he was happy with and jumped off the edge of the ramp landing on his feet 10 feet down. Sidda shook her head as he trotted off while the Normandy touched down. “Stubborn bastard.” She stated loudly.

“Get in and get out, Commander.” Anderson stated and Sidda nodded. 

“We’ll watch his back, Sir.” She stated with an obvious grumble toward him. “If I don’t shoot him first.” She muttered through the grumble. 

**

Eden Prime was a beautiful planet, it reminded Kaidan of home and for Jenkins it was home, but for Sidda it was just another planet. She’d been born and raised on ships and hadn’t set foot on Earth until she was 17, honestly she was more comfortable on ships then she was on planets but she had come to appreciate the wide open spaces since ships were one giant rat cage. 

Sidda left it to Jenkins to lead; the kid was from Eden Prime after all. As they moved along the path down the dig site Sidda paused along with the rest. 

“Oh my God.” Jenkins said. “What happened to them?”

Sidda looked over the charred human bodies with the same question only she didn’t voice it out loud. Whatever killed them reduced the bodies to burnt skeletal remains. “What in the hell could have done that, Commander?” Kaidan asked and a Sidda stood up straight. 

“I don’t know.” She replied and decided she’d spent enough time examining the bodies. “Let’s go. Jenkins, take us out, get us to the dig site.”

Jenkins nodded. “Yes, Ma’am.” He said and Sidda lingered looking at the bodies before heading out. 

“Nihlus.” Sidda said into the Comm. “We’ve got some bodies here.” She stated and there was a pause on the line before Nihlus answered. 

“Yes.” Nihlus replied. “I found a few too. Be careful, Commander.”

Sidda nodded and continued on with her men. 

**

Nihlus examined the human bodies at his feet. When Sidda made her report to him he had found several bodies already. The young woman before him was shredded and burned; the weapon used tore her body apart and cauterized the mangled flesh. He had seen hundreds of wounds from different weapons but now quite frankly he was at a loss as to what kind of weapon could have created so much damage. 

He rolled the body over onto its back and shook his head to the continued damage before leaving it alone and moving on toward his destination. 

So far the colony had been thoroughly uneventful, just creepy as hell. It was way too quiet and the dead bodies were a definite indicator that all was not well. Sidda couldn’t help but think of the mission to Oriso, most of that mission she still didn’t remember but it started out too quiet and fairly creepy also. In that moment Sidda missed her Turian crew, what she wouldn’t give to see them again…what she wouldn’t give to have them right now. Nov, Rajin, Ruvvak, and even Cerrus would make this mission go a hell of a lot faster no matter what the issue was. On the other hand judging by her track record on the Lante their presence could make things go to hell faster as well. Something unfriendly had to be on this planet and judging by the unknown creepy looking ship they saw in the vid Sidda wasn’t going to like it. 

Jenkins stopped as he saw movement up ahead. “Commander.” He said drawing her attention to it.

Sidda focused and saw a figure in white armor running toward them. Whoever it was turned out to be an obvious soldier as it dropped down behind some cover to try and lose the drone that was chasing them. Sidda and her team picked up the pace and got closer to render better aid as more drones appeared and fired at the soldier in white. 

“Scatter and take cover.” Sidda ordered as the drones picked up on them as well and began firing. 

Jenkins dove to the left and tried to get to the nearest boulder; his move wasn’t fast enough and lined up on him and fired several times. “Jenkins!” Kaidan shouted but returned his attention to the ensuing firefight. The soldiers’ Avenger barked and destroyed several drones with a few well-placed shots. 

Sidda registered that Jenkins was hit but couldn’t move from her position to assess him so she and Kaidan returned fire to help the lone solider. The area was swarmed with drones but that only made the autonomous weapons easier to hit. Sidda used a few throw fields to bounce a few of them away like golf balls as several more exploded from Kaidan’s rather powerful warp strikes. 

The area was raining debris as the three of them destroyed every mech they saw. When the last one fell Sidda and Kaidan lingered a moment before lowering their guard, Sidda was especially suspicious and Kaidan followed the ‘Hero of Elysiums’ lead. 

Sidda eyed the area and spared a glance to the soldier who seemed just as suspicious as she was. “You alright, Soldier?” Sidda asked as the woman got to her feet.

She nodded. “Yes, ma’am, I appreciate the help.”

Sidda lowered her rifle somewhat satisfied that no more drones were going to come out of the woodwork. “Name and rank?” she asked directly to the woman.

“Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212, the Marine detachment stationed here.” Ashley answered properly as Sidda looked over her shoulder to Kaidan who was kneeling down next to Jenkins’ body.

“How’s Jenkins?” She asked and Kaidan’s pause told her everything she needed to know.

“He’s dead, Commander.” Kaidan replied quietly and Sidda approached him looking over his shoulder before kneeling down to the officer she lost. 

“Damn it.” She said quietly and sighed putting a hand on Kaidan’s shoulder. “Come on…there’s nothing we can do for him now.” She stated and stood but Kaidan couldn’t act that callous. Sidda was a seasoned officer and he knew that but he didn’t know she could just shut out the feelings he was having about losing an officer. 

“Commander-…” he said and Sidda turned back to him. 

“We’ll come back for his body later but need to keep moving, Lieutenant.” She explained and returned her attention to Ashely. “I’m Cdr. Shepard this is Lt. Alenko.” Sidda introduced. “What happened here?”

Ashely was still on her adrenalin high but seemed to be coming off it a little; she paced and checked her rifle. “Oh, man…I don’t even know. One minute everything’s normal then that mothership appeared and Geth poured out from everywhere.” She explained and Sidda narrowed her eyes along with Kaidan who looked to Sidda puzzled. 

“Geth?” Kaidan questioned his tone taking the words right out of Sidda’s mouth. 

“What the hell are Geth doing here?” she asked and thought about the reason that they were there. Eden Prime was far from the Veil and they had no reason to be there. They must have been there for the Beacon though she didn’t know why. 

Kaidan apparently had the same train of thought. “They must be here for the Beacon.” He said and Sidda looked over at him. “Same as us.”

“Why would they be interested in a Prothean beacon?” Sidda asked and Kaidan certainly didn’t have an answer to that but she really didn’t expect him to. 

Ashley shrugged, the soldier seemed frazzled. “I don’t know.” She replied and let out a ragged breath before regaining all of her composure. 

This wasn’t something she was going to get an answer to right now, there was no way to know why Geth were here unless she questioned one. All she knew about them was what she learned in school, the legendary cautionary tale in artificial intelligence. The Quarians taught the galaxy a valuable lesson with their failure. “Where’s the rest of your unit?” she asked walking toward the bits and pieces of the Geth drones. 

“Dead…I think.” Ashley answered and Sidda narrowed her eyes to the last comment. 

“You think?” She inquired sternly. “What do you mean ‘you think’, Chief?” she asked again in a harsher tone.

“We were overrun…our only choice was to retreat.” Ashley explained and Sidda took a step toward her.

“How does retreat lead to ‘you think’ they’re dead?” she asked her tone hostile toward the NCO. 

“We were getting cut to ribbons, Commander, the Geth ran right through us…I didn’t have a choice but to sound a retreat…there’s no one else.” Ashley explained and Sidda’s opinion of the soldier dipped, abandoning a unit didn’t sit well with her…it never did even before she was transformed into Turian by Victus and his guys. 

“Commander…” Kaidan began nudging her to stay on course; they still had a mission to complete. 

Sidda cocked her head back to him and eyed the Chief knowing what Kaidan was going to say next. “We need that Beacon; can you take us to it?” she asked letting the obvious building distain for Chief Williams show through.

Ashley looked the Commander up and down and could see she wasn’t pleased about her explanation but was ready to defend her actions. In the end she nodded knowing full well she was going to have to explain herself in more detail later. “Yes, ma’am, this way.” 

Nihlus heard the weapons fire in the distance and paused. “Commander, are you alright?” he asked, he found himself pretty worried about her. 

It took a moment but Sidda responded. “Sort of, one KIA but I picked up a Marine from the 212. This place is under attack by the Geth, Nihlus, watch yourself.” She answered and Nihlus looked behind him back toward the body he had examined. Now it made sense, the burns and damage from her wounds hit him; a Geth plasma rifle or shotgun, no mistaking it now. 

“Why would the Geth be here?” he asked but like Sidda asking Kaidan he didn’t expect her to have an answer to that.

“I’m not sure.” She answered. “The Beacon was taken from the dig sight to the Spaceport, we’ll meet you there.” 

Nihlus nodded and thought about trotting back to the body to study it more closely but decided not to; he didn’t like the idea of Geth in the area and certainly didn’t like the idea of being separated now. He was regretting his lone wolf brashness now. He should have listened to Sidda and picked up the pace. 

Following Ashley garnered little chit chat between the three of them; Sidda was used to compartmentalizing the less endearing aspects of her career. Losing people was never something she enjoyed but it was part of the job. 

As they crested the hill the area looked like it had seen lots of battle, modular units were in flames and there were several bodies littering the ground but there was something else that was extremely unsettling. Sidda’s pace slowed as she saw one of the most horrific things she had ever seen before her. Giant spikes nearly 20 feet tall were topped with human bodies. It reminded her of Earth ancient history, Vlad the Impaler. What did this or better yet who did this and why? “Oh my god…” she breathed the horror in her voice apparent for all to hear and see as the same emotion colored her face. “are those the colonists?”

Kaidan and Ashley also had the same reaction of horror. They didn’t have an answer to that but then again, who could? The Geth were a virtual unknown but what was the purpose behind this? Sidda stepped up to the spike nearest her in order to examine it closer. She looked up to the body that had been impaled; it had slid halfway down the spike due to its own weight, shredded clothes dangled from the body swaying in the breeze. As soon as she got close enough to touch it the spike dropped and the figure moved. Sidda’s first instinct was to aim her weapon at it, this creature didn’t look human anymore…she didn’t know what it looked like. 

The creature screeched and jumped on her discharging an energy pulse that made her tingle all over; it felt like an amped up static charge. The creature pulsed again and disoriented Sidda making her fall backward with the creature still trying to hit and scratch her. The creature was stronger than it appeared and Sidda was having a hard time fighting it off with the static charge it was putting off. 

“Commander!” Kaidan yelled as Ashley fire a well-placed round into the creatures head blasting it off of Sidda. 

Sidda scrambled to her feet and staggered back toward Kaidan and Ashley. Her unsteady gait prompted Kaidan to steady her; he caught her and let her lean on him until she regained her control. The rest of the spikes around them dropped and more of the creatures attacked. “Don’t let them touch you.” Sidda stated as another fight commenced. The creatures were melee creatures and didn’t seem to carry any weapons; they ran right up to them and gave off an energy pulse but Sidda had the others back up and pick them off with relative ease. Alone they were easy to defeat but the three of them got the impression that if they swarmed it was bad news. 

It didn’t take too long to clear these creatures out leaving the three of them one more mystery. What the hell were they? They looked like they used to be Humans and Sidda got this sinking feeling that they were the colonists, in all the things that she’d heard about the Geth she’d never heard of anything like this. There was an occasional skirmish that surfaced about Mercs tangling with Geth too close to the Veil but no reports about putting men on spikes. 

“What the hell are those?” Ashley asked as Kaidan flipped a dead one over with his foot aiming his pistol at it. 

Sidda got closer and crouched down to get a better look. “No clue.” She replied quietly and tapped her comm. “Nihlus, do you copy?”

“Go ahead, Commander, I heard more gunfire…are you okay?” Nihlus answered promptly. 

“We just had an unsettling encounter.” She said. “Have you found any giant spike about 20 feet tall, lovingly topped with humanoid creatures?” she asked and stood up straight backing away from the dead creature. 

“I’ve seen the spikes but nothing on them.” He said and Sidda scanned the area, this mission was getting creepier and creepier by the second. 

“I don’t like this, Nihlus, something is very, very wrong.” She stated not afraid to voice her gut feeling to him. “I think they’re the colonists…the Geth are…transforming them somehow, I’m not sure.” 

Nihlus paused in his movement to kneel down and examine a disabled Geth, it had been peppered thoroughly with weapons fire, and its light had been shot out completely no doubt the culprit for its current disabled state. He looked ahead seeing two dead human soldiers, members of the 212, he had passed a few other bodies flying Alliance colors and displaying the markings of the 212 Marine Detachment. “I understand, Sidda, thanks for the warning.” He stated and rose to his feet looking ahead of him, his keen eyesight able to narrow down his destination. While Sidda had been busy encountering Geth at every turn he used her distraction to move freely, if the Geth were concentrated on her they weren’t looking for him. He didn’t like using Sidda as bait or placing her in that much harm’s way but he knew she was tough enough to handle it. For a biotic she was more tactically adept than anyone else he’d ever met. “I can see the Spaceport…I’m going on ahead.” Nihlus said and Sidda cursed. 

“No, Nihlus, wait for me.” She stated and looked back to Ashley. “How far from the Spaceport, Chief?”

“Right up the road, Commander, five minutes tops.” Ashley replied and Sidda relayed that to Nihlus. “Who is this Nihlus?” she asked Kaidan as Sidda continued to bicker with Nihlus.

“A Turian Spectre, best in the galaxy sent to oversee the delivery of the Beacon to the Citadel.” Kaidan explained.

“Five minutes, Nihlus, just five minutes. Wait for me.” She stated her tone reflecting an order that she knew damn well he was going to ignore. 

Nihlus huffed to her insistence that he wait for her but there was no reason to. Now that he knew what he was up against he could adapt and overcome. That was what made him such a great Spectre. “I’ll be fine, Commander.” He replied and could hear Sidda growl from her position far away from him, she had spent enough around Turians to adopted the Turian temper and learned how to growl with the best of them.

She was going to kill Nihlus, the stubborn son of a bitch. “No, goddamnit, I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Wait for me.” The comm line ended and Sidda cursed a string of colorful metaphors. “Stubborn son of a bitch.” She hissed and looked back to Ashley and Kaidan. “Double time it.”

For as big as Nihlus was he moved quietly, Sidda was going to kill him for being so stubborn but that wasn’t something he worried about. He knew what he was doing and didn’t need Sidda mothering him. As he approached the station he saw a figure and dropped down behind a crate to decide how he was going to approach this. He came out of cover and trained his rifle on the figure; Nihlus paused surprised when he recognized who the person was. 

“Saren?” he stated his tone mired in surprise. He wasn’t supposed to be here, this was his mission not Sarens…why would the Council send him as well?

The other Spectre turned toward him. “Nihlus.” Saren stated his voice cold, as it usually was. Contrary to the popular belief, Saren was a very charming and charismatic turian and Nihlus knew him well. He was like a brother to him. That being said Nihlus could hear something off in his voice. He attributed it the argument they had after hearing Nihlus had nominated a human for the Spectres. Saren’s extreme hate for the Humans caused a rift between them and the last time they spoke it wasn’t very friendly. 

Saren looked different, a few years ago he was severely injured in combat and as a result he had several synthetic implants on his jaw and mandible. Nihlus knew he had more synthetic pieces as a result from that explosion but that didn’t account for the obviously synthetic left arm. “What happened to your arm?” he asked and eyed the arm. It bore a striking resemblance to the Geth he examined on the way in. 

Saren’s expression didn’t change. There was something off about how he was acting but Nihlus couldn’t put his finger on it. “Just a prosthetic…a lot has happened since we last saw each other.” 

Nihlus didn’t buy that but Saren was his teacher, his friend. He had no reason to feel threatened by him but his presence remained a mystery that he couldn’t explain. “This isn’t your mission, Saren. What are you doing here?” he asked relaxing and walking toward him. 

Saren stood face to face with his protégé. “The Council thought you could use some help on this one.” Saren replied and patted Nihlus’ right shoulder with his good arm. 

“I wasn’t expecting to find the Geth here.” Nihlus commented, he wondered why the Council would send another Spectre out on such a simple mission. They had no idea about the attack until they reached orbit, so as far as he knew the only people who knew that Eden Prime was under attack was the crew of the Normandy. Something didn’t add up. “The situation is bad.” He finished as Saren circled around presumably checking the perimeter for more Geth to show up. 

Saren truly could have gone the rest of his life without seeing Nihlus on this planet but of course the one person who finds him was the one person he never meant to harm. “Don’t worry. I’ve got everything under control.” He stated and drew his Spectre pistol aiming it at the back of his friends head. One simple action would change him forever.

Nihlus spied movement in the direction he knew Sidda was coming from and could see the yellow stripes on her armor like a pulsing beacon. 

Sidda made her way toward the Spaceport Ashley said the Beacon had been moved to and now they were finally regrouping with Nihlus. Odds were that he was already waiting for her to get there, he may have been irritatingly stubborn but he was fast as hell. “Hurry up.” She said over her shoulder at a level that both Kaidan and Ashley could hear but not loud enough to announce her presence to everyone else in the area. As she approached the crest of the hill she looked down over the station and saw Nihlus standing with his back to another figure, he looked like a Turian…a very odd Turian. It dawned on Sidda that it was Saren, Nihlus’ mentor and fellow Spectre, but panic spiked within her as she saw Saren aiming a pistol at the back of Nihlus’ head. 

A single shot rang out from the pistol and Sidda watched in horror as the round ripped through Nihlus’ skull producing a blue mist of blood. Sidda could hear someone scream ‘no’ but it took a second for her brain to realize that person was her. Nihlus’ body crumpled forward to the floor and Sidda drew her pistol as fast as she could. Her scream obviously startled Saren and Sidda fired as soon as she sighted him. Her round didn’t miss but it only grazed Saren knocking his shields down. 

Kaidan and Ashley appeared next to her as Geth poured out of everywhere covering Saren’s escape. The firefight was one for the ages, the only thing Sidda and her squad could see was a ton of Geth making their way up the hill toward them. 

Sidda tossed out some of the most impressive biotics that she could think of. Between her and Kaidan there were dark energy explosions that shook the ground. The onslaught of Geth was enormous but it didn’t seem to stop Sidda, the strength of her powers tore the Geth to pieces like they were nothing at all. More creatures seemed to come out of nowhere and swarmed them but they were no match for the powerful, fury filled biotics Sidda wielded.

The level of biotic destruction was unheard of; Kaidan was a powerful biotic and being an L2 he was probably more powerful than Sidda was on any given day…except today…Sidda’s anger amplified her power to the point she rivaled any Asari. Once Sidda was satisfied with the demise of the Geth that advanced on them she made a swift bee line for Nihlus shooting the Geth that were still moving along the way. 

She sprinted at her top speed to Nihlus. “Nihlus!” Sidda yelled seeing his body. “Oh no, no, no, no, no.” she said crashing down to her knees next to his motionless body. He wasn’t dead. Nihlus couldn’t die; he was the Spectre of Spectres and had survived worse. There was a pool of blood under his head and he wasn’t breathing, she rolled him onto his back and let out a dreaded cry. “Oh no. Damnit.” She said her voice showing the emotions she was feeling. She had a short list of true friends and he was one of them. The exit wound was just above his left eye. “God damnit!” she blurted trying to contain tears. “I told you to wait for me, you stubborn son of a bitch.” 

“Commander.” Kaidan said trying to be gentle about it. “We have to go.”

Sidda didn’t understand, the last time she checked Saren and Nihlus were on the same team. Why would Saren do this? That wasn’t her only question. The other one was what the hell was he doing here? Eden Prime wasn’t exactly a tourist hotspot for Turians and as far as she knew the only Turian assigned was Nihlus. These were questions she’d happily ask Saren when she caught his ass. The interrogation that Nihlus went through would pale in comparison to what she was going to do to Saren. 

Sidda set her jaw and looked down at the body of her friend. His striking colony markings were forever blemished by the exit wound above his right eye. “I’m sorry, Nihlus.”

“Commander, we need to go.” Ashley said and, while Kaidan’s gentle prodding didn’t bother her, Ashley’s garnered a glare. 

Sidda got to her feet and stalked toward Ashley. “Where’s the fucking beacon?” she demanded her tone exceptionally harsh. Her body language was aggressive and Ashley stood up a little straighter unsure about how to take the threatening behavior from Sidda. 

“They probably moved it to the secondary platform.” She answered. “Easier to pick up and more secure.”

“Then let’s go.” She snapped readying her Avenger. Ashley didn’t question and scurried out first since she knew where she was going. Kaidan looked Sidda up and down, he didn’t know her well but he could deduce that she was fairly pissed off. She considered Nihlus a friend and he couldn’t blame her for being angry, hell, if he saw a friend of his executed before his eyes he’d be pissed off too. 

**

On the secondary cargo train Sidda paced like a caged lion, she’d spent so much time with the Turians that she had started to act like them when they were angry. The learned behavior from Victus, Cerrus, and Nov was heavily reflected to those who knew what to look for but to Kaidan and Ashley she just looked like one determined bitch. She checked her rifle for the third time as the cargo train slowed to the secondary platform. 

“Lead the way, Chief.” She ordered coldly and followed the Marine down the first set of stairs. Kaidan brought up the rear scanning the area to make sure they didn’t miss anything or get flanked by the enemy. 

As they moved cautiously his Omni-tool beeped. He tapped it to check what it had found. “Commander, wait.” Kaidan said as he tapped the holographic interface a few times to get a better idea of what he was looking at. 

Sidda stopped sharply and looked back at him the determination on her face to catch Saren was almost unsettling. “What do you mean wait?”

Kaidan examined his Omni-tool. “I’m picking up thermal explosives.” He stated and moved around to follow the indicator on his Omni-tool. He found the source and knelt down next to it. “It’s a bomb, Commander.”

“Bomb?” she questioned a little surprised that Saren or the Geth or whoever was the ringleader of this mess planted explosives on the spaceport. 

“Yes, Ma’am.” Kaidan replied and Sidda grumbled and saw movement from the other side of the platform. She recognized her target and the urge to kill him surged. 

“Saren!” she shouted loudly trying to draw his attention as she fired, all but forgetting about what Kaidan had said. The shot hit his barriers and she cursed firing again and again hoping she could knock his barriers down. It was news to her that he was a damn biotic. The only biotic Turian she’d ever met was Desala but like any other species they did exist. Saren returned fire but only a few shots before ducking around a corner and left her line of sight. “Fuck!” she cursed, she wasn’t about to lose him…that bastard was going to answer for the murder he just committed. “Let’s go!”

“Commander,” Kaidan called. “the bomb. We have to disarm it.”

Sidda warred with herself; the side that wanted to exact swift justice on Saren no matter the consequences was tempered by the rational side that told her she needed to do her job. “Damnit…” she cursed watching Saren get further and further away. She growled out of frustration and turned toward Kaidan. “Disarm it.” She barked to him her tone angry and frustrated. 

“Commander, Geth, three o clock.” Ashley announced making Sidda take up a cover position.

“Work fast, Alenko.” She ordered as the weapons fire commenced toward the Geth that started approaching, obviously covering Saren’s escape. 

The Sentinel knew his job, he wasn’t an engineer but he did have a knack for technology. “Commander, I’m picking up three more charges. Any one of them could level the area and destroy the Beacon.”

Sidda grumbled, there was no way she could catch Saren now. “Fine, lets locate them and shut them down.” She stated. The benefit to the cargo train platform was that it effectively funneled the Geth to them in a line. Two of the bombs were in that line and disarmed along the way, Kaidan was good she gave him that but it still didn’t make her feel any better. Saren slipped away leaving his horde of Geth to cover his escape. 

Ashley was proving to be a nice recruit; the soldier was very adept at her job. Her combat was adequate and she was a hell of a shot. The jury was still out on if Sidda liked her personally, but as a solider she couldn’t fault her. 

“One more to go, Commander.” Kaidan announced as they moved up following his Omni-tool to the final explosive. Its location was a little harder to cover as the last group of Geth was guarding the area where the Beacon was. The sheer number of Geth was starting to overwhelm them in a tactically bad area. Sidda’s shockwave pulsed through the ground knocking unshielded Geth off their feet but a bigger one closed in on her and got within arm’s length. Sidda grunted as she was knocked back by a backhanded strike from its rifle. She mustered all the biotic power she could into a throw and hit the large Geth square in the chest blasting it backward away from her. The strain of that hit coursed through her brain, there was certainly a migraine going to form from that.

In the distance she saw the large unidentified ship lift off, Sidda cursed, if that was Saren’s ship he was now far beyond her reach. The Geth did their job well and now she was going to turn them into scrap metal. Her anger now fueled her biotics and somewhere along the line she forgot about saving the colony from a Geth attack…she didn’t care anymore. Her main focus was killing Saren because he shot Nihlus in the back of the head. 

When the last Geth fell she turned to follow the giant crustacean looking ship ascending from the planet. She lost him, she had Saren within her grasp but she let him go. It was unsettling to realize that she was willing to sacrifice the colony to avenge her friend, a Turian, she knew people who would lynch her for that thought but she couldn’t help it. Witnessing Nihlus’ ‘execution’ wasn’t something she was going to forget anytime soon. 

Sidda couldn’t help but think of Nihlus and his untimely end; she was upset but had a job to do. The Spaceport was secure, the Geth were destroyed but she lost Saren, the unknown ship, and the reason for the attack on Eden Prime. She glowered at the alien device and felt like destroying it right then and there. “Nihlus died for this?” she snapped looking at the Beacon sitting on the platform. “Shepard to Normandy…” 

Kaidan heard her but stepped closer to the Beacon studying it, after a moment something came over him. The sound of Sidda’s voice melted away and he felt like he was drifting away, entranced by the Beacon. Sidda finished her order to pick them up to Joker and she glowered at Ashley, she still didn’t know what to make of her…honestly she didn’t trust her. As she listened to the Chief talk Sidda spied Kaidan getting closer to the beacon but something wasn’t right. She reacted and pushed past Ashley then grabbed Kaidan pulling him back from the Beacon. She didn’t mean to make him crash to the ground but the Lieutenant did and Sidda tried to back away from the alien machine but the forces controlling it ensnared her instead. Sidda was paralyzed and she lost all sense of what was going on around her. 

“Commander!” Kaidan shouted as he shot back to his feet and moved to pull her back. 

“No, no! Don’t touch her!” Ashley stated pulling him back. 

Sidda’s body was ridged and about two feet off the ground. She was grunting involuntarily and seemed to be in pain, they had no idea what was going on but Sidda knew nothing about what was going on around her. Flashes of unknown images flood her mind; they were confusing, horrific, and overwhelming. The beacon exploded and blasted Sidda backward a good 10 feet causing her topple head over heels before coming to rest on her stomach unconscious. 

“Commander?” Kaidan exclaimed rushing to her side and rolling her over gently. “Commander, can you hear me?”

Sidda was completely unconscious; whatever the beacon had done to her incapacitated her on every level. 

**

Kaidan paced in the Medical Bay looking at Sidda’s still body. It had been nearly 16 hours since she was rendered unconscious by the Prothean Beacon, 16 hours since their mission took a catastrophic turn for the worse. He and Ashley radioed the Normandy and had to tell Anderson just how badly things had gone. They collected what bodies they could, including that of Jenkins and Nihlus, and transported them to the Normandy but even the frigate couldn’t take all the dead. The Alliance was contacted to send aid to the Colony as they set course for the Citadel.

For hours Sidda didn’t move, she was just still. He eyed her as he paced around worried about her, she’d been unconscious too long…something had to be wrong. 

He could see her dog tag hanging loose over her clothing; he spied a pendent hanging off the chain that resembled a Turian Colony pin. Vyrnnus carried one but it looked much different, obviously a different colony. Seeing the pendent confirmed the rumors he’d heard that Sidda was a mate or lover of a Turian. The Turian General she served under on the Lante. He blinked and looked away from the tags after realizing he was staring and brought himself back to the current situation. 

Anderson was not pleased with the outcome of a mission that he believed would be relatively easy for a Spectre and the great Cdr. Shepard to conduct and had grilled Kaidan for nearly an hour about just what the hell went wrong. Geth sighting, a colony destroyed along with a working Prothean Beacon, and a Council Spectre dead was the epitome of a bad mission. Kaidan did what he could to fill in the blanks but Anderson wanted to hear the full version from Sidda. 

Sidda was dreaming, more like having a nightmare. The same repeated images flashed through her mind, graphic horrible scenes of an alien race being ripped apart like a video feed set on a loop. It was burned into her mind, something that she would never forget but perhaps that was the intent. She got the distance impression that this was a warning of some kind but she couldn’t put it together. The images started to drift away but were by no means gone and she felt herself start to wake up hearing a voice that she recognized, it was Kaidan’s. 

“Dr. Chakwas, I think she’s waking up.” He said and Sidda opened her eyes seeing both Kaidan and Dr. Chakwas looking down at her. 

“Commander?” Chakwas questioned as she opened her eyes and brought everything into focus. “Commander, can you hear me?” she asked as Sidda started to move around more.  
Sidda simply nodded to Chakwas as she attempted to sit up. “How do you feel?”

Sidda’s head was pounding, she had ranked the worst headaches she’d ever had…this one fell somewhere around the after effects of Oriso and drunken debacle at Oblivion. “Like the morning after shore leave with a bunch of Turians.” She groaned as she hands went to her temples. “What…what happened?”

“The Beacon…it did something to you.” Kaidan stated and Sidda started to remember the events that unfolded. “I was careless, Commander, I got too close to the Beacon and must have triggered some kind of automatic defense.” He stated and Sidda commended his admission that it was his fault even though she was pretty certain it wasn’t. 

“No.” Sidda said and grimaced to the throb that went from the left temple to the right and then back again. “It’s alright, Lieutenant, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

Kaidan allowed a smile to appear for a second then covered it up. “You pushed me out of the way and it did something to you…then it exploded.”

“You’ve been unconscious for nearly 16 hours, Commander, Lt. Alenko carried you back to the ship.” Chakwas added and Sidda looked over her shoulder to him and nodded her appreciation. 

“Thanks.” She said softly trying not to upset her throbbing head any more than it already was. 

The rest of the mission came back to her and she came to the memory of Nihlus. “What about Nihlus?” she asked quickly and felt a slight pang of guilt for asking about him and not the soldier she had lost. 

Kaidan shifted his weight from foot to foot and cleared his throat. “We recovered his body, along with Jenkins and few others…I’m sorry, Commander.”

“Commander, can you tell me what the Beacon did to you?” Chakwas asked trying to steer the conversation back to the medical mystery that shrouded her for the past 16 hours. “Your brain waves registered unusual delta waves…were you dreaming?”

Sidda scoffed as she rubbed the back of her neck in the hopes to make the pain in her head dull away. “I think nightmare is more apt a description, Doc.” She stated and shuddered as she thought of those horrible images again. “It was…a vision…I guess…a vision of death. Our death maybe, I’m not really sure.”

The door to the Med Bay opened and Anderson walked in, as Alenko stood at attention Sidda would take the reprimand and remained precariously slouched on the bed. “Doctor, how is she?”

“With a little rest, she’ll be fine.” Chakwas stated and that was all Anderson needed to hear.

“Excuse us, both of you, I need to speak with the Commander.” He stated and Chakwas walked out with Kaidan. “Do you mind telling me what the hell happened down there?” he asked even before Kaidan and Chakwas left the room. 

Sidda had but one answer to that and it wasn’t the one that Anderson was going to want to hear but she said it anyway. “I have no clue.” She replied. “I would have bet money on seeing Pirates, Slavers, Mercs, hell Santa Claus down there but Geth? Geth…of all the things to attack a colony so far from the Veil.”

“And what the hell is this I hear about Nihlus being killed by another Spectre?” he continued as Sidda remained in her position sitting on the bed. She still hadn’t found the energy to get up and move around. 

“By Saren.” She stated firmly and Anderson’s facial expression twisted to confusion.

“Saren?” he asked. “You’re sure?”

Sidda nodded, that she would remember until the day she died. “Absolutely. I remember seeing him on the Lante after we rescued Nihlus from Ihm’Shal…Nov told me his name was Saren. Unmistakable, that son of a bitch put a gun to Nihlus’ head and pulled the fucking trigger.”

Anderson’s personal dealings with Saren told him that she was probably telling the truth. “The Council won’t believe this.” He stated. “Saren is their top agent they’ll never believe he executed his protégé let alone a fellow Spectre.” Sidda got up off the bed now fairly aggravated; she didn’t care about the Council or the Colony, now she had one mission and one mission alone: to kill Saren, end of story. “And the Beacon was destroyed, the Council won’t like that either.”

Sidda growled and started toward the back room of the Medical Bay, the designated Morgue. “Then they’re just going to have to get used to fucking disappointment.” She snapped and opened the door. She felt her heart sink and deep well of anger start to surge as she saw Nihlus’ body on one of the tables, she clearly remembered his last moments the blue mist that sprayed as the round exited his forehead. “I’m going to kill Saren.” She stated confidently and closed the door.

“You can’t strong arm the Council, Commander, they’ll need proof.” Anderson stated as Sidda turned toward him. “And you will cool your jets before you talk to anyone and that’s an order.” He stated making Sidda glare quietly. “We should be at the Citadel soon…I’ll speak to Udina about getting us an audience with the Council and I want you there.”

Sidda nodded heeding his advice to calm down. “And what about what the Beacon showed me? My vision…I guess. I’m damn sure that was a warning.” She asked and Anderson had the same opinion that she had at the back of her mind. 

“Keep it as our ace. They Council might not believe you…hell I’m not even sure I believe you.” He stated and Sidda couldn’t blame him there, if she wasn’t the one having the vision she’d probably not believe it either. “We should be nearing the Citadel, I suggest you prepare.”

Sidda nodded and quietly made her way out of the Medical Bay. What she wouldn’t give to go back and do this whole mission over again, she’d given anything to save Nihlus. It killed her to know that if she had just been a little more forceful with him she could have been there to back him up, she could have saved him, been there to watch his back and prevent someone from putting a round in it. He just got married and she didn’t even want to think about Rajin learning about this, there was a strong possibility that Rajin was going to blame her for this and she couldn’t fault her there. Sidda regretted not attending the ceremony, right now she regretted a lot of things, and her friend’s death was her fault.

She stopped at her locker and glanced over her shoulder to see Ashley, it was odd to see the Marine out of her armor but she looked like any other female Marine she’d ever met. The hair was pulled back into an inverted braid and she was slim but fit. Taller than Sidda by a few inches she had jet black hair, tanned skin, and dark eyes. Sidda furrowed her brow not really clear why she was on board. “What the hell are you doing here?” she asked, her tone the aggressive one she had when she wasn’t in the mood to be diplomatic. Another trait she learned from her Turian family. 

Ashley let the tone slide, this time, and answered. “Capt. Anderson wanted me to come along; he thought you might be able to use me.”

Sidda scoffed, so far she wasn’t overly impressed. “Can’t imagine why.” She muttered and Ashley became defensive to her tone. 

“Do you have a problem with me, Commander?” she asked and Sidda closed the locker and turned toward her. 

“I have a problem with incompetent soldiers.” She growled and Ashley took offense to that, she could tell by the body language. “So far you’ve only proven to me that you cut and run when ‘you think’ your squad is dead.”

“Begging the Commanders pardon but you were not there. You didn’t see your squad cut to pieces and slaughtered by the Geth.” She snapped and Sidda had to give her props for that, at least she has some backbone and stood up for herself. “I’m here by Andersons’ orders not yours so take it up with him, ma’am.” She snapped but kept the last bit as respectful as she could given the tone of the conversation. 

“Commander?” Kaidan called drawing Sidda’s attention from the Marine before her. At least Ashley had a backbone but she had a ways to go if she wanted to impress Sidda. She walked away from her and was paced by Kaidan asking about why they were heading to the Citadel. She was pleased to hear that biotic had been there before as she had never had the pleasure. Not even serving on the Lante, it seemed they went everywhere else but there. 

While Ashley garnered Sidda’s loathing Kaidan had the opposite effect, he was a hell of a soldier from what she had seen so far. He was good with the technical aspects and an extremely powerful biotic, there were no other Human biotics more powerful than the L2s. No one had told her officially but that is what she guessed. He had to be an L2 biotic; if he was he was a lucky one. 

“Kaidan,” she said pausing before she left for the CIC. “thanks for getting me out of there.”

Kaidan nodded with a smile. “Anytime, Commander.” He stated and Sidda gave him a nod before turning to leave again. “And…Commander,” he began making her stop and turn toward him. “I’m glad it was you down there.”

Sidda scoffed. “I lost two people and the beacon, how are you proud of that?” she asked and Kaidan cocked his head. 

“You salvaged what you could out of bad situation.” He stated and Sidda sighed to the platitude. “I’m proud to have you as my commander.”

A smile graced her face and she extended her had to him. “Thank you.” She replied as he shook her hand before walking away to the CIC. Her mind still clouded by losing her friend and couldn’t shake the notion that his death was her fault. Of all the things that happened, that hit her the most, part of her was disgusted with herself for taking the death of a Turian harder than losing an entire colony. She was willing to sacrifice the Beacon and the colony and let those bombs go off just to get to Saren. Lucky for her Kaidan was there to keep her on track, this wasn’t over…not by a long shot, Saren was still out there and she had a round with his name on it.


	20. Rogues, Mercs, and Cops

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Twenty: Rogues, Mercs, and Cops

 

In all the time Sidda spent in the Alliance and growing up on ships she could firmly say she’d never been to the Citadel. The station was an impressive hub of transport, commerce, and culture. She leaned on the railing in Udina’s office looking over the view of the Presidium. She’d only said about six words since they’d showed up at the Citadel and looked royally pissed off; the image of Nihlus being shot was burned into her brain along with whatever the Beacon had left behind. She felt different since the Beacon ensnared her. She felt several emotions that she didn’t know where they came from, the rage and guilt she attributed to losing her friend but the sick feeling of dread she couldn’t place. 

Udina had managed to get them an audience with the Council but she got the distinct impression that the Council wasn’t going to help them put their most decorated Spectre in the brig even with the proof that she had. He murdered another Spectre right in front of her and she was damn sure going to make him pay for that. 

Sidda, Kaidan, and Ashley stepped off the lift and made their way down the corridor that opened up into a giant room. The Citadel tower was impressive, an eye opener at no mistake. Sidda spied two Turians at the end of the corridor having a loud discussion that drew her attention. 

“I need more time.” One of them stated. Sidda paused seeing the colony markings on his face. The Palaven blue that matched Maridus’ she had no illusions though, this wasn’t Damar. His skin tone was much lighter and he had cleaner, sharper features, his voice was different, and his eyes were a crisp blue. The fact that he was wearing C-Sec blue was a clue also. 

“Let it go, Vakarian, your investigation is over.” The one stated, firmly. His markings were powder blue and he had a deep voice. 

“Sir, I know Saren is dirty, just give me more time.” The other one pleaded. Sidda’s attention was peaked to his statement. This officer was looking into Saren, to her he was a potential ally and at the very least she wanted to pick his brain. 

“Garrus, I am ordering you to let his go.” He stated and walked away leaving the other one obviously frustrated. 

When the other Turian departed the one he called Garrus turned to the human audience he had attracted. “You’re investigating Saren?” Sidda inquired and Garrus stood up straight looking her up and down.

“You must be Cdr. Shepard.” He stated. “Garrus Vakarian, C-sec.” he introduced. “That was my boss; Executor Pallin…so to answer your question, Commander, I was investigating Saren.”

“Why?” she asked.

Garrus was still figuring her out, everyone had heard of Sidda Shepard, the Hero of Elysium and the accusations made by the Alliance were damning. “Because your government filed the complaint.” Garrus replied. “I found small things but not enough to condemn him…I know I’m close to something big though I just need more time.”

“Commander, we should find Capt. Anderson.” Kaidan stated and Sidda nodded to him. Garrus might just be a treasure trove of information. 

“Don’t go far. I’d like to talk to you later.” She stated and Garrus nodded slightly unsure how to take that. He didn’t have much experience with Humans beyond C-Sec business.

**

The Council chamber was enormous, it even had trees; Sidda did a 360 taking in the sheer size of the room. She’d never seen anything like the Citadel. “Wow.” She stated and as Kaidan and Ashley had to agree with her. Sidda’s attention was brought back to the Council, three members of the powers in the galaxy; Turian Councilor Sparatus, Asari Councilor Tevos, and Salarian Councilor Valern. As Anderson, Sidda, and Udina approached Kaidan and Ashley held back off the bridge walkway. Sidda looked from the Council to the giant holographic projection of Saren. 

“The Geth attack is a matter of some concern but there is no evidence to support that Saren was involved in anyway.” Tevos stated and Sidda came to a stop looking from the Asari then over to Saren. 

“The investigation by Citadel Security turned up nothing to support your charge of treason.” Sparatus added and Udina scoffed as did Sidda. So far she kept her mouth shut but her glare was focused on Saren.

“We have an eyewitness who saw the whole thing.” Udina stated and Sidda was prepared to back that up 100%. “Cdr. Shepard.

“Yes, we’ve read the Eden Prime report.” Valern stated. “The statements from your own people say that you were very far away when you witnessed Nihlus’ ‘execution’.”

“I may be human but my eyesight’s sharp as ever.” Sidda fired back. “I saw that son of a bitch shoot Nihlus in the back of the head.” She snapped and turned her glare back to Saren. “And you know it. Me and my squad chased your ass all the way to the Beacon where you set bombs to destroy it and the whole colony.”

“I resent these accusations.” Saren stated maintaining his innocence. “Nihlus was a fellow Spectre and a friend.” 

“That only let you catch him off guard.” Anderson chimed in and Saren shifted his look toward him. 

“Ahh, Capt. Anderson…you always seem to be around when Humans levy false accusations towards me.” Saren stated and Sidda scoffed loudly.

“False accusations…that’s rich.” Sidda hissed. “I saw you!”

“Cdr. Shepard…Nihlus spoke highly of you, I see he over estimated your talents.” Saren stated, his insult obviously designed to infuriate her by insinuating that she wasn’t good enough to protect Nihlus. 

“How about you get your ass down here and we’ll see who’s underestimated my talents, you son of a bitch.” She snarled back.

“That’s enough, Commander, you will conduct yourself in a professional manner or you will be escorted out.” Tevos stated sternly and Sidda had to force herself to be quiet.   
“Nihlus died because you were not capable of watching his back, the Beacon was destroyed because you are just as incompetent, your people are not ready to join the galactic community…you’re not even ready to join the Spectres.” Saren stated, his pointed tone did well in pissing off the humans before him. 

“He has no right to say that!” Udina barked.

“Cdr. Shepard’s candidacy for the Spectres is not the issue here; we are here to ascertain the truth of what happened on Eden Prime.” Tevos stated. “The Geth attacked a colony, a Prothean Beacon was destroyed, and a Spectre was killed.”

“While the loss of your colony is regrettable, there is no evidence to support that Spectre Arterius had anything to do with this. Our logs indicate he was nowhere near Eden Prime at the time. Spectre Arterius has been cleared of all charges.” Sparatus stated and Sidda’s temper flared.

“Are you kidding me?” she snapped. “Come on, Sparatus, you read Victus’ reports on me for damn near a year…you know I wouldn’t lie about something like this!” she roared stepping forward and doing away with the ‘professionalism’ that Tevos warned her to conduct. “That son of a bitch put a gun to Nihlus’ head and pulled the trigger, I saw it with my own eyes! My squad saw him running from us on the platform, what do you think…we’re all lying?” 

“Commander, stand down.” Anderson ordered and she barely had enough sense to heed his command. “What about Shepard’s vision, the images that she saw when she contacted the Beacon?”

“Are we allowing dreams into evidence now?” Saren asked his condescending tone was enough to fuel her anger even more. 

Sidda was growing more and more aggravated by the second, the Council was a waste of time; Anderson was right when he said they wouldn’t believe her. “You can shut up at any point or come down here and see me personally.”

Saren had to admit she was a tenacious one. “If there’s nothing else…” Saren stated and Sparatus nodded to him as he shut down the comm link and his image disappeared. 

Sidda roared a frustrated growl and stormed away from the Council. “Fucking waste of time.” She growled.

“I can’t figure out which one of you to blame for how badly that went.” Udina stated and Sidda glowered at him. “I should never have brought you in there, Captain, your history with Saren colored the meeting.”

Sidda snorted. “And my hatred for that bastard didn’t?” she questioned and Udina turned to her.

“As for you…you should be thrown in the brig for the way you conducted yourself in there.” Udina stated and Sidda ignored him. 

“So what’s the next step?” Sidda asked ignoring Udina and directing her question to Anderson.

“What about the C-Sec officer…the Turian, Vakarian?” Kaidan asked and Sidda could see what he was getting at. 

“Right.” She nodded and looked from Kaidan to Anderson. “What’s this history you have with Saren?”

“Its old history, Commander, I’m not getting into it right now.” He stated and Sidda narrowed her eyes at him. 

“What kind of history?” she asked ignoring the fact that he just said he wasn’t getting into it now.

Anderson shot her a glare that told her the thinness of the ice she was skating on. “Not now, Commander, continue your investigation. I’ll be in Udina’s office, let us know when you have more leads while we run down others.”

Sidda still wanted to know more and turned toward Kaidan and Ashley. “Alright, let’s go find Vakarian.” She stated and left the meeting still fuming that the Council was eating up Saren’s bullshit line. She needed to talk to Garrus. She told him to wait and was arguing with the Council for about 15 minutes before they shot her down. 

“Where’d he go?” Kaidan asked and Sidda scoffed. 

“Typical Turian…” Sidda began. “tell them to wait and they wander off.” She stated sounding annoyed. “Alright, Kaidan…you’ve been here before…you know anyone in C-Sec?”

“One or two.” Kaidan replied with a nod. 

It took about 15 minutes for Kaidan to get some information on Vakarian, the person he knew in C-Sec pointed him the shady side of the Citadel. Chora’s Den was a slice of sleaze ball heaven in the lower wards. A hot spot for every crime imaginable but they had it on good authority that Garrus was sniffing around Chora’s doing exactly what he was told not to, investigating Saren. Sidda was really starting to like this Turian. 

They could hear the beat of the music from the alleyway and went through the second doorway to the ramp that led up to the club. As soon as she crossed the threshold she felt the barrel of a pistol pressed against her right temple. She froze, not seeing many ways out of the hole she just stepped in. The fact that she still had a head told her that the person holding the gun didn’t want to kill her on the spot, her peripheral vision saw her ‘attacker’. 

“Commander, I hear you’ve been looking for me.” Garrus stated and lowered his weapon. Sidda let out a breath and nodded, she finally tracked the bastard down after his disappearing act in the tower but she didn’t think he’d put a gun to her head for tracking him down.

She cleared her throat and moved out of the doorway to talk to him. “I told you to stay put…you don’t listen very well do you.” She stated and Garrus chuckled to the bluntness. He already liked her. 

“Turians have a hard time standing still.” Garrus replied putting his pistol back where it belonged and Sidda chuckled, that she knew. “What can I do for you?”

“I want Saren.” She replied bluntly and Garrus nodded.

“Join the club. There’s a man named Fist in Chora’s Den that has information we both could use.” He explained and Sidda nodded sharply. Garrus was a goldmine…having the cop investigating Saren on her side was going to be quite handy. 

“Lead the way, Vakarian.” She said and Garrus nodded.

“Garrus. Please.” He said and Sidda allowed Kaidan and Ashley to walk ahead of her as they followed Garrus. After a few minutes they were passed by a Turian with very dark, nearly black skin, and the white half skull face paint. At first Garrus thought nothing of it but something suddenly felt off then it hit him…he knew who that Turian was and he abruptly spun. “Commander!” he warned as the Turian raised a pistol trying to line up before Sidda moved. Garrus drew his pistol and fired faster than anyone Sidda had ever seen putting a round between his eyes. The cop was good, she gave him that. 

Sidda yelped hitting the deck as soon as he warned her. “What the hell was that?” she demanded scrambling back to her feet and looking from Garrus to the now dead Turian. 

“I know him, Commander,” he stated. “one of Saren’s known associates. I came across him during my investigation of Saren. He’s an assassin, Commander.”

“Assassin?” Ashley questioned. “If you knew that why wasn’t he arrested?”

“I know Saren’s dirty too but I can’t prove it to the Executor…which means they won’t do anything.” Garrus explained. 

“So Saren just tried to assassinate me…swell.” Sidda stated with an obvious annoyed tone in her voice. 

“Looks like you’re getting under his skin, Commander.” Ashley said and Sidda scoffed. 

“I saw him execute a Spectre in cold blood…I’m a danger to him and he knows that.” She replied and spared a lingered looked to Garrus, she was sizing him up more than she did when she met him. He reminded her so much of Maridus that she actually missed that damn sniper. “So who’s Fist?”

“Fist runs the crime around this end of the Wards. Really bad guy, been in and out of jail but we were never able to make anything stick. A buddy of mine told me that Fist has ties to the Shadow Broker and that the Broker’s agents hired him to do some work for Saren.” Garrus explained.

“The Shadow Broker’s a myth.” Ashley scoffed and Garrus paused shaking his head. 

“Oh no…he, she, or it exists but no one has ever seen them.” Garrus stated. “There’s whole divisions in C-Sec dedicated to the Broker, movements, whereabouts, capers, all of it and they’ve turned up squat but whoever it is does exist.”

“So what did Fist do for the Broker?” Sidda asked.

“I have a friend in the Wards who runs the Clinic; she told me that she patched up a scared Quarian who said she had proof that a Spectre went rouge. No one at the embassy would help her so my friend sent her to Fist to help get her off the Citadel and avoid those trying to kill her.” Garrus explained and Sidda didn’t like where that was heading. 

She nearly laughed to the run around that she was glad Garrus did and not her. “But Fist is working for the Broker.” She stated putting it all together and Garrus nodded. 

“Well, let’s go save a Quarian, shall we.” Kaidan stated and Sidda nodded to the man who took the words right out of her mouth.

Garrus gestured for Sidda to walk first. “After you, Commander…or…what it is your people say: ladies first?” he asked and Sidda and Ashley snorted as they looked to each other.  
“Such a gentlemen.” Sidda stated.

“Men are such chicken shits.” Ashley added making Sidda laugh out loud as she lead the way into Chora’s Den.

“Are you armed, Commander?” Garrus asked and Sidda paused and looked back to him.

“Yeah…” she answered in a drawn out suspicious tone. “Why?”

“Just checking.” He replied but realized that his explanation wasn’t going to fly with her. “Be on your guard…anything can happen in here.”

**

Sidda sighed at the sight of Chora’s Den, typical club. Lots of Asari dancers but that was expected, what she didn’t expect was the number of human females dancing. “Well…it’s good to see night clubs are pretty much the same where ever you go.” She stated and Kaidan raised his eyebrows to the appealing scenery. 

“It’s got a nice view.” He stated and Sidda chuckled. 

“Focus, Lieutenant, you can play when we’re done.” Sidda stated.

“You’re too kind, Commander.” Kaidan replied with a chuckle. 

Sidda also chuckled. “I try.” She replied. 

Ashley shook her head to Kaidan, she wasn’t offended by his statement, how could she be…she’d spent years around men so she knew the way the male mind worked. “Typical man…as soon as they enter an environment like this they start thinking with the small brain.”

Sidda allowed Garrus to take the lead, hell he was a cop and he knew this place as well as the boundaries he could push. 

“We need to see Fist.” Garrus stated to the obvious guard. 

By the body language Sidda could tell that Garrus was familiar with him but it wasn’t friendly. “He’s busy. Come back with a warrant, Vakarian.” He replied rudely and Garrus brushed it off.

“How about now?” Sidda stated and the Guard gave her a disgusting once over look. 

“Ain’t you a gorgeous little bit.” He stated. “You can stay honey.” 

“Fuck off.” Sidda replied coolly. 

“Fine…” he stated and retuned his attention to Garrus. “Answers’ still no. Now take your hot little bitch and leave before you end up like that other C-Sec officer who stuck her nose where it didn’t belong.” He threatened and pushed Garrus back lightly with his right hand. 

Garrus’ temper flared, that C-Sec officer was a friend of his. A young Asari who’d been on the job about 3 years, one of her cases forced her to cross paths with Fist, after serving a warrant and searching one of his haunts she was found beaten and raped. Raped by several men and of several different species. Garrus knew it was Fist and his thugs but couldn’t prove a damn thing to Pallin so he walked. Garrus snatched the guards’ right arm and slammed him face first into the wall with his right hand bent around his back in a precarious position so if he moved his arm would break. “We’re gonna try this again and this time you’re gonna do as I say or the last thing to go through that head of yours will be this bullet.”

Garrus forced the guard to walk over to the door leading back to Fist’s private office. Sidda snatched his access card and swiped it to open the door and the lot of them headed in. Kaidan hit the only guard inside with a neural shock dropping him instantly. 

Garrus shoved the guard into Ashley. “Keep an eye on him.” He said and zeroed in on Fist.

Fist looked around at the commotion at the other end of the room and recognized the tall Turian. “Vakarian, have you lost your fucking mind? Where’s your warrant?” Fist demanded.

“You Fist?” Sidda asked and Fist looked from Garrus to Sidda and looked her up and down. 

“Who the fuck are you?” he spat back.

Garrus was more than happy to answer Sidda’s question. “Yeah, that’s him.”

Sidda looked Fist up and down sizing him up, he looked like a tough guy; strong jaw, relatively young, well-muscled, and had a flat top. The way he carried himself screamed that he was thug and she really didn’t like him. “My name’s Shepard, Alliance Navy…we need to talk, Fist.” She stated and Fist scoffed. 

“I don’t have to tell you shit, Navy.” Fist hissed but was smart enough to stay out of reach. 

“You do with me.” Garrus growled firmly.

Sidda was finding Garrus easy to team with, kind of like working with Maridus or Ruvvak. “What do you know about Saren?” she asked before he had a chance to defy Garrus and stepped closer to him. 

“I don’t know shit, Bitch, now get the fuck out of here.” He snapped in her face and moved to shove her back. That was all Sidda needed to give Fist a wakeup call. She grabbed his right arm and wrenched it around before driving her right knee into his abdomen as hard as she could. Fist coughed to the hit and held his abdomen with the other hand as Sidda let him go. “You can’t do this.” He grimaced.

“I’m not C-Sec, so you can be reasonably sure that I don’t give a damn and as for him…” she said gesturing to Garrus. “I don’t think he likes you very much so don’t bet on any help from him.”

“We know the Broker hired you to do a job for Saren so spill it.” Garrus stated.

“I’m not telling you anything, so get the fuck out of here.” Fist replied and his defiance was pissing her off more and more. 

Sidda took a step toward him and got into his face. “Listen to me, you son of a bitch, Saren destroyed a human colony and shot my friend in the back of the head, you don’t tell me what I want to know there are going to be pieces of you all over the Citadel, now talk!” Sidda barked in his face. “Where’s the Quarian?”

“What did the Broker hire you to do?” Garrus asked. 

Fist grumbled looking over the room, Ashley had the outside guard at gunpoint and Kaidan was standing guard on over the one he nailed on the way in, he needed to pay more for his guards. “Someone wants the little Quarian dead; she’s got damning information on someone the Broker likes more than the rest of us.”

“The Quarian came here, what’d you do with her?” Garrus asked and Fist glared at him. 

“Fuck you.” Fist answered.

That was the wrong answer and Sidda drew her gun. “Tell me or I’m gonna give you a new hole to breath out of.” Sidda ordered emphasizing her order with hit from her pistol.  
“You wouldn’t.” Fist defied and Sidda hit him again.

“Try me. Talk!” she barked again and Garrus looked over at her for a moment. Nothing like learning about someone on the fly, this was the best way to get to know someone; during an interrogation.

Fist had the feeling that this officer wasn’t fucking around. She just might kill him. “Alright, alright…I set her up to meet with the Broker.”

Garrus narrowed his eyes, that didn’t make any sense. “The Broker? No one deals with the Broker…only his agents.”

Fist scoffed, and looked at her with a smile. “Yeah, but she doesn’t know that.” Fist replied and Sidda punched him again for good measure and to wipe that smile off his face.   
“Where?” she ordered her tone raised and firm. 

Fist spit blood out of his mouth and glared at the brunette who wasn’t afraid to kick his ass. “Why should I tell you?”

Sidda was tired of playing games with this bastard. She had two reasons to hate him, working for the Broker and by extension Saren and for the attack on the C-Sec officer Garrus mentioned. “Because if you don’t I’m gonna start blowing pieces off of you until you do.” Fist called her bluff and Sidda pressed her pistol into his palm and pulled the trigger. “Next is an appendage…how many do you want to lose?”

Fist screamed, loudly. “You fucking bitch!” he shouted and Kaidan was pretty sure that everyone in the Club heard that…they were now on a clock. Sidda grabbed his bloody hand and pressed the barrel to his thumb and he decided not to call her bluff again. “Alright, alright, I sent her to the maintenance ally next door…but odds are you’re too late.”

“I know it.” Garrus replied. 

Sidda hit him hard in the face with her pistol knocking him to the floor and turned to Garrus. “Get C-Sec on him. Kaidan, neural shock him so he doesn’t go anywhere.” She ordered. “You’re not gonna go anywhere are ya, Fist? Because if you do I’m gonna pull you apart a piece at a time.” she stated to him and Kaidan did as ordered and the last thing Fist saw was Sidda. 

“Now it’s time to go save the Quarian.” Kaidan stated as Sidda hit the other guard hard enough to knock him out. 

“Let’s go.” She said as Garrus called in C-Sec for back up. There was no way C-Sec would arrive in time to get to the Quarian before time ran out. “Where’s this place at, Garrus?” she asked as the four of them headed back out in the Club.

“Look out.” Kaidan warned quickly as he snatched Sidda away from the doorway. The keen Sentinel yanked her back just as a barrage of gunfire peppered the threshold. 

“I think our secrets out.” Sidda stated and looked down at the arm encircling her waist. It had been a long time since she’d been in the arms of a human man. She’d be lying if she said he wasn’t attractive, he was and he was just her type but her heart belonged to Adrien. “Had enough there, Lieutenant?” she asked her tone friendly and light but she could feel his puzzled expression through the back of her head. 

“Huh?” she heard from him and giggled when figured it out. “Oh…sorry, Commander.” He said and released her.

“That’s alright, what girl doesn’t want to be saved by a handsome, strapping, young man?” she teased and Kaidan’s face turned about 10 different shades of red as he blushed from head to toe.

“Could we get back to the firefight, please?” Garrus asked. 

“Of course.” Sidda replied and saw the club patrons cowering on the floor and under tables as Fist’s men laid siege. “Check fire; civilians.”

“Commander, we don’t have time for this.” Garrus stated and Sidda agreed with that whole heartedly. 

She scoffed and flattened two thugs with a well-placed throw that knocked one into the other. “Yeah, no kidding, why don’t you ask nicely…maybe they’ll stop.”

“Why don’t you and Williams ask nicely, you’re prettier than we are.” Kaidan chimed in and Sidda snorted. 

“No more playing…I am not losing this lead.” She replied and tossed out a singularity that created an explosion after Kaidan dropped a warp on it, that was big enough to flatten three bad guys.

Shooting their way out of Chora’s became a little easier with the arrival of C-Sec, ordinarily Sidda would have stopped and thanked the responding officers but she really didn’t have time for that. According to Fist they didn’t have much time to track down the Quarian and stop Saren’s men from killing her and she wasn’t about to lose this lead because of an asshole like Fist. 

The four of them pushed their way past panicked bar patrons now heading for the exits since the shooting stopped. “Nice timing, guys.” Garrus praised as they finally got to the door. 

“Garrus, clocks ticking…lead the way.” She barked as she and her team bolted from the Club. Sidda jogged behind Garrus as he wove them through a few corridors before entering the maintenance ally that Fist told him about. 

With their side arms drawn they hugged the walls as the vibe of the area shifted to uneasy. “Contact.” Ashley whispered with Kaidan behind her on the right wall. She was the first to lay eyes on the scene as Sidda and Garrus’ view was obstructed. “One Salarian, two Turians, and the Quarian.” A moment after those words left her mouth a loud explosion went off causing the Salarian to be blasted into the wall. 

Garrus and Sidda both cursed at the same time as they advanced on the mess ahead of them. Another grenade went off as Kaidan put a shot through the head of the Turian that got blasted off his feet by the first grenade. The other Turian spun to the shot behind him and went to fire on Sidda and Garrus. Ashley and Kaidan heard two shots ring out at the same time and saw both Sidda and Garrus put a round through the Turian’s head. 

Sidda looked up at Garrus who never took his eyes off the target; she really liked him and wanted him on her team. If she was going to track Saren she wanted him there also. “Williams?” she questioned managing to take her eyes of the cool Turian. 

“Clear, Commander.” The Chief replied as the Salarian caught in the blast died of his injuries. 

Sidda eyed the Quarian and kicked the body of the Turian that had been leading the assault. “Garrus, same colony markings as the one you shot earlier.” She stated and Garrus looked down at him. 

Garrus looked down at him and nodded. “Another one of Saren’s assassins.” Garrus stated and Sidda narrowed her eyes to him and looked up at him. 

“What the fuck did Saren do, buy them in bulk?” she asked and holstered her pistol. “How many more does he have?”

“Depends on how much of a pain in the ass you are to him.” Garrus replied and Sidda snorted. 

“These two are extremely dead, Commander.” Ashley stated as she and Kaidan checked the other Turian and Salarian merc. 

“What’s your name?” Sidda asked the Quarian who looked a little confused by what just happened. By what Sidda had observed the girl was pretty good with tech. The grenade she set off kicked off the fight and showed that she could take care of herself.

“Tali.” She replied quickly.

“Are you okay?” Garrus asked and she nodded to the very tall Turian that towered over her. 

She nodded and asked the obvious question. “What is going on?”

“These men were assassins sent by Saren.” Sidda stated as she searched the body of the one she shot. “My name is Shepard and this is Garrus, Williams, and Alenko…we’re investigating Saren.”

Tali was even more confused. “But I-…” she began then stopped herself, as far as she knew she was meeting with people that could protect her and get her out of this mess. “I thought-…”

“We have a lot to talk about, Tali.” Sidda stated. “But you’re safe with us.”

Sidda nearly smirked as Tali played the recording for the record to the Council; Udina had already sent the Council a copy of the recording to let them satisfy their own authentication. Just being able to stand there and do the classic neener neener to their face was totally worth it. 

The Council shifted uncomfortably as they had been proven very wrong. Sparatus sighed and looked down before placing his hands behind his back and looking directly at Sidda. “My apologies, Commander, you were right.” He said and Sidda raised her eyebrows, Sparatus seemed to have a magic power that sucked the sense of victory right out of triumph. The larger implications about this were extremely heavy. This was a highly trained Spectre that had gone rogue. “Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status and all resources revoked.”

“The other voice on…the woman…its Matriarch Benezia, one of our most influential leaders.” Tevos said and Sidda looked from her to Sparatus and then back again.

“Looks like she found a new game.” Sidda stated and earned a glare from Tevos. She could hear the tongue lashing coming but she never said anything, maybe the fact that they had a Spectre out there killing their own and now a rogue matriarch quelled the high and mighty attitude. 

“So how do we find Saren?” Garrus asked and Sparatus shifted in place. 

“Saren is a Spectre, Officer Vakarian, he’s highly trained and experienced…if he’s gone under you won’t find him.” He stated and Sidda raise her eyebrows. 

“Then turn me loose on him.” Sidda suggested. “I’ll track him, figure out what he’s doing, and drag his ass back here kicking and screaming to answer for what he’s done.”

Sparatus believed her, after reading the reports from Victus; someone he knew personally and respected, he knew that she was the one person who could probably track down the best Spectre in the galaxy. Victus’ description came to mind…tenacious and the best soldier he’d ever seen. He looked to Tevos and caught the look from Valern as well then nodded slightly to them both. Tevos looked away from him and tapped a few keys on the console in front of her. 

“Cdr. Shepard, step forward.” Sparatus stated and Sidda blinked as she realized what was about to happen. “Holy crap…I’m being inducted as a Spectre.” She thought and did what he asked stepping toward the end of the walkway. She could hear everything that the Council was saying but it didn’t sink in, those in the Council chamber on its many levels stepped closer to witness history being made. Races waited decades and sometimes centuries for even a seat on the Council and even longer for a spot in the Spectres. Spectres were even more selective than the Council was about their members, to have a human, a race that’s only been in the galactic community for 30 years, be accepted in to their ranks was a huge deal. Garrus looked at Tali, he didn’t know if Tali knew how big of deal this was but he certainly knew. 

“This is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species, Commander.” Tevos said and Sidda blinked out of her little trance. She didn’t know what to say, somehow saying ‘thank you’ wasn’t it, Nihlus was the one that gave her this and it was a pity that he wasn’t here to see it. Without him she would never have gotten this opportunity…the only thing she could do for him was avenge him and that was something she planned on doing. When she told Sparatus she’d bring Saren back kicking and screaming she lied, she was going to return that Turian bastard with his head in a box. 

For her the rest of the meeting was a little bit of a blur, she heard that Tevos had a lead on Benezia, the high and mighty Asari that was apparently on Saren’s side, she apparently had a daughter that was a Prothean expert and might be able to tell her about the Beacon that nearly fried her brain. 

**

Garrus broke into a jog to catch up with Sidda; he liked her, a lot, how she handled Fist was a dream come true. He was so tired of the Citadel’s bureaucracy and was refreshed to see someone who set the rule book on fire. “Commander.” He called and she paused in mid stride as she made her way to the Weapons requisitions officer. 

“Garrus.” She greeted. “Glad you found me; I wanted to thank you for your help.” She stated and Garrus nodded.

“My pleasure, Commander.” He replied and Sidda revisited the idea of keeping him around. 

“Hey, why don’t you come with me?” she asked and Garrus stopping making her stop as well. 

His expression said it all. “Are you serious, Commander?”

“Call me Sidda.” She stated looking up at him with a smile, if she was flirting she wasn’t intending to but given her attraction to Turian males now she couldn’t help herself. “And yeah…you’re a hell of a shot, quick on your feet, and I kinda miss having a Turian around. Wanna come hunt a rogue Spectre with me?”

Garrus thought about it for a moment, there was no way he was saying no to that, a change to get away from C-Sec red tape and actually do some good for a change. “If you operate the same way that I saw today…the answer’s absolutely.”

Sidda smiled to him and his approval of her methods although she had to admit, she was a little more brutal that she usual was. “Welcome aboard, Garrus.” She stated and kept walking and he waited a moment before jogging to follow her. He followed her into the Spectre requisitions weapons locker and eyed some of the toys that C-Sec could only dream of using. Top of the line rifles and a Spectre sniper rifle he’d kill to use just once. He could hear Sidda being granted access to the Spectre stock and Sidda saw him eyeing the sniper rifle. “Hey, you know what the benefit about coming with me is, Garrus?” she asked smiling to herself and Garrus continued to look but not touch.

“What’s that?” he asked and Sidda’s smile broadened. 

“Spectre clearance gives me access to anything we see…and special order from Councilor Sparatus gives me a weapons shipment of whatever I want.” She stated and Garrus blinked not really sure what she was driving at until she walked over and pulled the rifle off the rack and handing it to him. “Thanks for saving my life, Garrus.” She stated and his face was visibly shocked. 

“Thank you, Comm-…Sidda.” He stated sincerely. He’d never had someone just give him a weapon that cost more than he made in a year even with the maximum overtime that C-Sec would allow. Her smile was nice but to be completely honest he didn’t know what to do with her. He wasn’t overly experienced in dealing with humans. 

“You’re welcome…now…we’re tracking a former Spectre so let’s arm up so we have a few gifts for him.” She said and Garrus set the rifle down as he helped Sidda rummage through the extensive ordinance that they now had access to. Being given free rein to grab whatever he wanted was a dream come true. 

After sending Garrus and the weapons shipment to the Normandy, Sidda head down in the C-Sec lobby to get to the lift. She had wasted enough time letting Saren get an immense head start now it was time to track his ass down and put a bullet in his head.

“You Shepard?” a deep voice asked as the owner, an enormous Krogan, stepped in her path. 

Sidda blinked unsure if she wanted to identify herself to 6 foot, 800lbs, Krogan. “Damn.” She stated looking him up and down. “I thought Turians were fucking huge.” 

The Krogan mused. “I’m bigger than a Turian in every way, Little Girl.” He replied and Sidda chuckled. “Now, are you Shepard?”

“Who wants to know?” she asked. 

“Name’s Wrex, I hear you’re responsible for turning Fist over to C-Sec. You cost me a lot of money.” He said and Sidda eyed him as he eyed her. This little human was ready for anything and Wrex applauded her for that.

“Bounty Hunter or Hit Man?” she asked.

“Depends on the pay.” He replied and Sidda chuckled to that answer. 

“He had information I needed and C-Sec needed him to answer for some stuff.” She replied. 

“You cost me a lot of money, Little Girl.” He repeated and Sidda sighed, she didn’t know many Krogan and hoped to hell he wasn’t stupid enough to start something surrounded by C-Sec. 

“I tell you what…I could use a bounty hunter, you come work for me and you can have anything we come across that you deem valuable and if Fist gets away from C-Sec I’ll pay you double if you get to him before I do…triple if you get to him before Garrus does.” The Krogan seemed surprised by her offer and looked as if he was thinking it over and looked down at her extended hand. “Deal?” she asked and Wrex nodded engulfing Sidda’s tiny hand in his giant hand. 

“Deal.” He replied.

Sidda nodded. “Bay 14, SSV Normandy, we leave in an hour.”

**

Since arriving on the Citadel, Sidda had acquired Spectre credentials and three new recruits to track Saren, a Quarian, a Krogan, and a Turian. Having a Turian and a Krogan together in a box flying through space was suicidal in the eyes of any other sane person out there. She didn’t care about their bad blood, they were there to do a job and if they had personal issues she’d throw them off…docking port was optional. As she made her way to the docking bay she was met by Anderson who eyed the giant Krogan that passed him and then looked to Sidda who waved him off. “That’s my bodyguard.” She replied and Anderson confirmed that her sense of humor was intact; he wasn’t sure about the rest of her though. He saw what she was like when she woke up and how she more pissed off about what happened to Nihlus then what happened to the colony. “I’m keeping the Quarian and the Turian too.” She stated and Anderson narrowed his eyes further. 

“Sounds like quite the recipe for disaster, Shepard…pity I’m gonna miss it.” He stated and Sidda’s brow furrowed.

“What do you mean?” she asked and Anderson sighed. 

“I’m giving you command of the Normandy.” He stated and the confusion on her face was evident. “You’re a Spectre now, Sidda, you need a ship that you command… you can’t answer to me.”

“I’m not taking your ship, Anderson.” She replied and Anderson shook his head.

“This not up for discussion, you go find Saren and make him pay for what he’s done.” He stated and his tone ended her protest. Sidda didn’t know what to make of the fact that she was now not only a Spectre but a Spectre with her very own prototype war machine that left every other ship in the galaxy in the dust. The Normandy hummed to life next to them indicating that the departure time was nearing. “Good hunting, Commander.” He finished extending his hand to her.

She shook his hand and felt that there was no way she was talking him out of it. “One thing before you go, what happened between you and Saren?”

“A while back I was considered for the Spectres. It was about 20 years ago and I was evaluated by Saren. Long story short he caused an unnecessary explosion that killed hundreds of Batarians and then blamed me for giving away our mission. He roasted me in front of the Council and destroyed any chance I had of becoming a Spectre. He hates humans, his brother was killed in the First Contact War and he blames all humans for the galaxies problems.” Anderson explained and Sidda heard another loud whir from the Normandy that gave Sidda her cue to load up. “Saren’s dangerous, Sidda, watch your ass.”

Sidda nodded and sighed looking him up and down. “I will.” She said. “And I’ll try and keep the Normandy out of trouble…I know she’s brand new.”

They crew parted ways as she walked through the ship; Joker piloted the ship out away from the Citadel. The Alliance crew and her non alliance crew, it was going to be interesting trying to get all of them to work together. Just getting a Krogan and a Turian to work together was going to be a feat but her mission was simple. She was going to hunt down Saren and bring him in or more than likely kill him. The images from the Beacon disturbed her and seeing Nihlus be killed was another thing that was going to haunt her until the day she died. She could only imagine what Deliah was feeling right now.


	21. Pinnacle Station

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Twenty One: Pinnacle Station

The mission to Therum certainly offered some new experiences; it was the ‘courting period’ as Sidda called it, the first mission with her new recruits that involved a military mission with all the trimmings not firefights in clubs and alleys. The purpose of this mission was to find Liara T’Soni, Benezia’s daughter and a serious person of interest. Seemed easy enough, after all how hard could it be to land on an uninhabited planet and find an archaeologist? She thought that just before dropping in the Mako and regretted it 20 minutes later. In order to get to know the new recruits she took Garrus and Tali with her. She took Garrus for two reasons, one she needed to get to know him and two she liked having a Turian on her team; since her tour on the Lante her squad just didn’t seem complete without a six foot plus predator on it. 

The Mako was another new experience…or rather major challenge. Leaving out Sidda’s unmet need for speed because of the shitty handling of the Mako the fact of the matter was taking the Mako was better than walking. For a planet that was supposed to be uninhabited the place was swarming with Geth, enough that the mechanical bastards had set up turrets around every damn corner. For the most part the mission was okay, the Mako flattened the smaller Geth that got in the way and the main gun handled the Colossus well. 

Tali turned out to be tougher than she looked, the little Quarian preferred shotguns and wasn’t afraid to get down and dirty in a fight. When they were forced out of the Mako because of terrain she saw just how good Garrus was with his brand new sniper rifle. He expertly picked off the Geth that were taking pot shots at them as Sidda appreciated how lucky she was to have Tali on the team. Her hacking skills did well in turning a few Geth to their side. After taking out an entire army of Geth the dig site wasn’t very active, at least on the way in. There was no way in hell that was going to last long and all three of them knew that. They found their target, an Asari scientist unfortunately trapped in a Prothean protective barrier. Apparently, she was trying to protect herself from the Geth and a Krogan Battlemaster and something backfired trapping her in the barrier as well. Sidda had to laugh at that but the hardest part was figuring out how to get her out of it. Once again Tali’s skills came in handy as did her ingenuity; she used a mining laser to gain access to the ruin below Liara, she got an A+ for that. 

Springing Liara from the trap was fairly simple, getting the hell off Therum was nearly impossible apparently. Just as they were about to exit stage left the afore-mentioned Krogan Battlemaster arrived to make the getaway a little tougher. Sidda cursed loudly and multiple times as the fire ensued between them, the Krogan, and the Geth. Of course she would be fighting a Krogan…where was her Krogan, on the damn Normandy. As the fight kicked off there was a momentary pause in the fight as the ground shook below them and Joker informed them that the blast from the mining laser set off a seismic event…of course. Sidda thought fighting a pissed off Turian who didn’t like her very much was hard…a Krogan outclassed her in every way. After being slammed into the wall a third time by a charging Krogan she could hear the breast plate of her armor crack. That was not good. This was another brand new experience and one she really could have lived without but thanks to Garrus it was one she was able to stagger away from. After that, Therum started to crumble beneath them so they had to run to the top of the Prothean ruin where the Normandy could scoop them up on the fly. The mission was a success if not perfect. 

**

According to Dr. Chakwas, the Krogan managed to crack not only her armor but two ribs as well. The debriefing with Liara proved a little fruitful but it did put Sidda’s mind through the spin cycle again. She was a Prothean expert but had never heard of the Reapers and discounted Sidda’s theory about what wiped out the Protheans until she ‘Embraced Eternity’ with Sidda’s mind and saw what the Beacon had left behind when it crashed through her brain. In all, Sidda didn’t think too much of Liara, she was a scientist; young and naive. The fact she was Benezia’s daughter was a cause for some concern but it was better to have her near where she could be contained. 

Hours after Therum, Sidda had talked to everyone…now she just wanted to take the pain killer that Chakwas gave her and go to bed. 

Sidda stood on the hilltop looking down at the Eden Prime Spaceport; she could see Nihlus with standing with his back to Saren, the gun aimed squarely at the back of his head. It was like an out of body experience for her; she could see all of this unfolding the same way and remembered feeling that this was something she never wanted to experience again. With the emotion of knowing what was about to happen, the sky darkened and the Reaper ship descended on the planet triggering the flashes of horrible images from the Beacon. She looked down from the ship that appeared to be landing right behind Saren and saw him pull the trigger, that blue mist of blood that sprayed from the exit wound and she screamed.

Sidda sat upright sharply with a yell of ‘no’ like she did on Eden Prime. Once again she couldn’t figure out why she was more affected by this than she even she thought. Nihlus was a friend and she was going to kill Saren in the most painful way possible but she’d never had nightmares about stuff like this. Liara’s ability seemed to have churned up the beacons download and she figured it tied into her feelings about losing Nihlus. The frustrating thing is that she couldn’t figure out what feelings for whom she was feeling. “Shit.” She cursed quietly and shook her head. She brought her knees up to her chest and rested her elbows on them hissing in pain from the cracked ribs. Frustrated, upset, and now in pain her temper flared and she slapped the clock off the nightstand. 

The frustration and unsettling images prevented her from sleeping and since they were destined for Pinnacle Station anyway she got up and headed down to the cargo bay. In the wee hours of the morning the only crew on duty was nightshift. She wasn’t sure why she went down there, subconsciously she thought of Nihlus and the gear that was still in the locker. She didn’t turn it over to the Council with his body though it was a mystery even to her as to why. 

She stepped off the slowest freight elevator in the entire galaxy and found the Cargo Bay still and quiet with the exception of the armory bench. The light was on over the bench and Garrus was busy working on his sniper rifle. The weapon was fantastic on Therum, or it was fantastic in his hands…she didn’t know which. Sidda thought of Cerrus in his roost modifying every weapon he could get his hands on. 

“Commander.” Garrus greeted without looking up from his rifle. “Can’t sleep?”

She eyed the locker that contained Nihlus’ stuff and walked past it. “No…” she answered and Garrus could hear the trouble in her voice. “What about you?”

Garrus chuckled and gestured to the black rifle he was working on. “You gave me a new toy to play with, Commander.”

Her halfhearted smile in response to that caused him some concern. “Something on your mind?” he inquired looking over at her judging her demeanor. He slipped into Cop mode, the skill he’d honed after years in C-Sec made him able to see right through people. Something was bothering her and by what he had heard about Eden Prime he guess it had to do with the friend she lost and the images from the Beacon. 

She sighed and leaned on the wall between the lockers and bench watching him work. “Yeah, too much.” She replied. “I just can’t get the image of…” she began but stopped abruptly deciding that she didn’t want to talk about it. When she stopped mid-sentence Garrus casually looked up at her but said nothing. Sidda quickly changed the subject with a sigh and looked him up and down. “So tell me about Garrus Vakarian.” She said and Garrus eyed her quickly before returning his attention to the sniper rifle. 

If she didn’t want to talk about what was bothering her pushing her wasn’t going to help. He didn’t know her well enough to know how she’d react so he left it alone. “What do you want to know?” he asked quietly sighting tightly down the rifle to test the sights. 

She couldn’t help but look Garrus up and down, he reminded her of Kalvaris in his mannerisms and build but the markings were the same as Maridus’. “How long have you been in C-Sec?”

“Five years.” He replied setting the rifle down on the bench so he could continue tinkering with it. 

“And before that?” she inquired while watching him pull the scope apart. She guessed Turian military as a sniper. He was as meticulous with his rifle as Maridus and Ruvvak were. 

“Military for the mandatory 15 years.” He replied proudly looking down at her then back to the rifle. 

“I’m guessing a sniper?” 

Garrus chuckled and nodded. “What gave it away?” he asked making her chuckle also. “I did some time with Black Ops before I got out. Decided to follow my father and joined C-Sec.”

“Your father was C-Sec?”

Garrus nodded and quietly replied. “One of the best.” 

She smiled. “He must be proud of you.”

He paused a moment from what he was doing when she said that. “Sort of.” He stated and returned to what he was doing. She narrowed her eyes a little and could see that the topic had now reached the limit. 

“You know, I served with a Turian with the same colony markings.” She said and he looked at her, trying to figure her out. “He was the first officer on the ship I served on last year.”  
“Really? What was his name?” Garrus asked.

“Damar Maridus.” She said and he laughed out loud. 

He stopped what he was doing and laughed. “Ahh…Damar…I do know him. I’ve spent the better part of my life with that man in my shadow.” Garrus said. “We grew up together, went through boot camp, had our first few assignments in the same place but then he went to Special Ops and I went to C-Sec.”

It dawned on Sidda as to who Garrus was and she chuckled. “You’re Solana’s brother.”

Garrus cocked his head with a nod and he too figured out who she was. “If you’re the human who served on the Lante then you must be the human with the strong grip.” He said and she could guess which event he was talking about. She chuckled nodding slightly. “Something about sliding down a platform to catch him.”

“I dislocated both my shoulders catching him.” She stated and Garrus chuckled. 

“He never could keep his feet.” He chuckled. 

His tone made her chuckle, she liked Garrus he was a lot like Maridus. “He was the first one to take me in on that ship. First friend I made.” She said and Garrus figured her out.   
He’d had a suspicion about her but now she confirmed it. “He grew up a rich boy…never knew any better.” He sniped gauging that she would be receptive to a good joke. Indeed she was a laughed at his joke. “If you’re the human who served on the Lante, that means you are Gen. Victus’ mate.”

She narrowed her eyes some, there had been a few rumors she was sure of that especially after Octavia’s visit. Her relationship with Victus was no secret now and while some didn’t care the general opinion of it was less than favorable. “Not his mate.”

Garrus snorted. “Close enough…we Turians aren’t as complicated as you humans are when it comes to relationships.” He stated, being in C-Sec he’d seen all the courting rituals that there were. Humans were complicated creatures but not as complicated as Salarians who actually entered in contracts for breeding. 

“I’m assuming you have an opinion on it like everyone else does.” She said and Garrus stood up straight from his hunched position over the bench. 

He shook his head with a shrug and sorted through the components he needed to modify the scope. “No opinion. It’s no business of mine.” He said and moved closer to the bench watching what he was doing. “Hold that please.” He said and she held the rifle where he asked. 

“Most people find the match…oh how do they put it…unnatural.” She said and Garrus grunted. 

He clicked the scope modification into place. “Most people are idiots.” He replied and she chuckled again. “Anyway, why do you care what they think? The relationship is between you and him not you and them.”

Sidda looked up at the tall Cop and cracked a half smile. “Wow...cop and councilor.” She replied and Garrus indicated that she could let the rifle go.

“No…just call it like I see it.” He stated and pulled the rifle tight into his arm and sighted down the scope to check his handiwork. “Perfect.” He praised and offered it to Sidda. “You any good with a sniper rifle, Shepard?”

Sidda took the rifle and mimicked his stance. “I think I’ve held one once.” She replied and pulled it in, tight sighting down the scope. Garrus chuckled to the comment and observed her. He’d met plenty of humans but none like her. 

**

Going to Pinnacle Station was not her idea; she argued with the Council but lost to Sparatus. He may have been a pain in the ass to her but for some reason they were on the same page most of the time. He was right in this case, as a new Spectre she needed to train like one and learn Saren’s moves to have a shot at catching him. On the other hand she preferred to keep him off center by going at him full bore but Sparatus forced their newest Spectre to buck up and follow a suggestion for once. 

To the Turians Pinnacle Station began as secret base during the Krogan Rebellions, after the war when the Turians soared in status it became a training camp run by them to train Spectres. When they were inducted into the Spectres the base grew in popularity and became jointly run. All Spectres now train at the facility but virtually every species has access to it. If they’re not training as a Spectre they are training as part of council approved Special Forces training. With the addition of Humans in the galactic community they were added to those allowed on Pinnacle Station. Begrudgingly, the Turians allowed their Relay 314 Incident dance partners into the mix but it wasn’t seamless. As much as the Turians didn’t want to admit it, Humans were not as weak as they thought. The Alliance fought them to a standstill, their adaptability made them excellent in combat, even the Turians knew that. So when the Council appointed Adm. Tadius Ahern as the Commanding Officer the Turians understood why, they didn’t have to agree but they understood why an exemplarity officer like Ahern was given the position. 

Sidda had decided that if she was forced to be there she was going to squeeze every last bit of usefulness out of the station while she was at it. She may be the only Spectre but she was chasing a Spectre, the best Spectre, so her crew was going to need the training as well. 

She looked to the tall guard by the interior door and did a quick up and down of him. He was average height for a Turian coming in at around 6’6” and had purple maxillary teeth skull markings that she’d never seen before. “I’m here to see Adm. Ahern, Captain.” She stated and the Guard Captain gave the best possible sneer that rivaled any that she had seen from Cerrus.

“He’s inside…up the stairs, Commander.” He stated as he did the same and looked her up and down. His tone was enough to make Sidda cock her head and keep her attention on him. 

“Got an issue, Captain?” she asked directly and the Captain looked down at her.

“Humans don’t deserve Spectre rank.” He replied spitefully as the other guard opened the door.

Sidda opened her mouth to respond to the carbon copy of Cerrus but she was cut off. “Shepard! Get your ass up here!” a man yelled in the pissy commanding officer tone. Sidda eyed the Captain, he was going to be a problem and she could see that but she moved away from him and headed up the stairs to Ahern. He was an Alliance legend, saw action in the First Contact War and performed one of the best data module recoveries in the Alliance. His work was taught at the Academy, there was no one better in the Alliance at defending a position and she remembered that training on Elysium. 

“Admiral,” she greeted giving him a salute. “it’s an honor, Sir.”

Ahern returned the salute and nodded as he looked her up and down. “You’re not as I pictured.” He stated. “Somehow I thought you’d be bigger.”

Sidda snorted to him. “I don’t mean to be rude; Sir, but I have a bit of a time crunch. There’s a rogue Spectre out there that needs a bullet in the ass.” She stated. 

Ahern allowed a snort. “We’ll fast track you through the training then.”

“I want my people to go through too.” She stated and Ahern narrowed her eyes. “That’s not procedure, Commander.”

“If I’m going to chase the best Spectre in the galaxy I want them to have the same training too.” She stated and Ahern thought a moment.

“Alright…given your mission I’ll let you have it, Commander.” He stated.

**

Pinnacle Station had tech that was beyond top of the line, the thing that surprised Sidda the most was the presence of a Krogan merc brought on by Ahern to spice up the training and add a huge level of difficulty. Along with the Salarians and Asari instructors and trainees there was one lone human but the station was pretty much dominated by Turians. Of course, they had the strongest and largest military presence in the galaxy rivaled only by the Asari. 

When the Normandy arrived Sidda’s team took over the place. Training not only the newest Spectre to the galaxy but her entire ground team as well was a huge task. Tactical and physical training like this was old hat for nearly everyone but Tali and Liara. Tali was more comfortable with combat than Liara was and that was a problem that needed to be addressed. Sidda broke up her teams placing the weaker members with the very strong ones. Tali seemed to work very well under the guide of Wrex and Ashley and Sidda took on Liara with the help of Kaidan and Garrus. The two had improved by leaps and bounds after the first few rounds of training. The benefit to drilling her and her people into the ground was that she actually forgot about Saren, the Beacon, and Nihlus as she and her team took a break while watching Tali and her tutors’ race through the timed Capture the Flag segment. She took a swig of the water that Garrus had given her and laughed out as the three ‘misfits’ kicked the VI’s ass and broke the timed event record. 

“How ‘bout that huh?” Garrus chuckled from his perched seat on the stair case a few steps above the one she was sitting on. 

“Wrex is a pretty good teacher underneath that grouchy Krogan exterior.” She stated and Garrus had to agree with that. Garrus and Wrex said very little to each other most of the time but they seemed to be warming up to one another the more that time ran on. Ashley, on the other hand, didn’t like either one of them or Liara but she didn’t seem to mind Tali to a point. She didn’t like her looking over the Normandy’s systems but Tali reminded her of one of her sisters. 

“So are you.” Garrus replied and Sidda snorted and craned around to look up at him. 

“Are you calling me a Krogan, Vakarian?” she asked her tone mired in a slight chuckle.

“Well, you have the temper of one.” He stated and Sidda couldn’t help but shake her head with a smile. That was the same thing Holum told her only his exact words were ‘personality of Krogan’ after her threatening to punch him to show that her shoulders were healed enough to return to work. 

“Where have I heard that before?” She muttered. “Alright...we’re up, let’s go.” She stated and Garrus stayed seated. 

“Shepard, why don’t you give everyone a break.” He stated. “We’ve been at it for hours.”

Sidda’s precarious patience was wearing extremely thin; she didn’t want to be there anyway. The constant training was helping to channel the anger elsewhere and she wanted to get it done as soon as possible. “I want to get this done and get the hell out of here.” She stated and Garrus noticed the patience disappearing. 

“I know you want to find Saren but you can’t drill them into the ground. Give them a break, give yourself a break.” He stated and she huffed, she was itching to get out of here. She already knew she could do the job the training wasn’t for her.

**

Sidda yielded to Garrus’ advice and let her crew have a break. Right now she was single minded and wanted Saren dead and Nihlus avenged. She listened to the crew bond to a certain extent as she paced back and forth with a bottle of water. 

“Whoever’s records that you and the Commander broke is gonna be pissed.” Ashley said to Tali. Shepard blasted through all the courses like a torpedo but Tali was the surprise. The little Quarian tore through the courses extremely well and surprised the hell out of everyone by breaking a few of the course records with room to spare. 

“They were mine.” Vidinos stated joining them; his body language reminded her of Cerrus and not in a good way. Sidda continued to pace back and forth eyeing Vidinos but saying nothing. Vidinos had been bad mouthing them since they stepped in the door. The only one he didn’t seem to have an issue with was Garrus but Garrus mostly ignored him. “A Quarian and a Human…neither of your despicable species should be allowed here.”

Sidda had learned to ignore the superior Turians after spending so much time with Cerrus, the king of all Turian assholes, but she figured that Ashley wasn’t as patient. Ashley’s history with Turians was worse than Sidda’s history with Batarians. Sidda downed the last gulp of the water from the bottle and continued to pace and listen. Magnus Vidinos was the stations top gun and trainer though his opinions of anyone other than Turians, Asari, and Salarians were a bit low. 

“Well, sorry about your luck, man, we’re here to stay.” Ashley stated and glared up at him. “First human Spectre…first of many.”

Vidinos aggressively slammed his hands on the table with a growl. “Your people are a disease.” He growled to Ashley and then looked to Tali. “And yours are the trash of the galaxy, vermin who can’t keep their own planet under them. 

Sidda huffed, she was getting more and more annoyed by an array of things but Vidinos was taking the top prize right now. “Alright, back off.” She said finally. 

Vidinos looked up from his cold glare at Tali and slowly rose back up to stand at his full height. “Cdr. Shepard.” He stated looking her up and down again. When he met her his opinion of her was low, very low, but after seeing her blaze a trail through the courses he learned that she knew what she was doing as a soldier though it didn’t mean he liked her, just meant he knew not to underestimate her. “You’re a token…a sign that the Council is weak.”

Sidda snorted and moved around the table slowly trying to keep what little hold on her temper still intact. “Or it’s a sign that the galaxy needs to make room for the next big thing.” Ashely chimed in. 

“You let a colony be destroyed and a Spectre be murdered…what makes you qualified to be a Spectre?” he asked and Sidda’s temper spiked but she kept a handle on it. 

“Because I’m the best.” She hissed and sounded pleased with herself. 

“You humans think you own the galaxy…you’ve only just arrived and now your people have invaded the Spectres and are even trying to get a spot on the Council.” Vidinos stated as he stood face to face with the small human.

“Sparatus gave me this job, believe me…I can do it.” She replied and he sneered

“What can you do? You can’t even protect your own colonies.” He sneered and she stepped closer to him, the Turian training in her showed its colors. 

“I did protect a colony, asshole, what the hell have you done?” she hissed and Vidinos was seasoned enough to not bite the bait.

“Ahh, yes, Elysium…you stopped the invasion but your people still don’t know how to defend your colonies, the Empire would never have let that happen.” Vidinos said and Sidda scoffed, she wasn’t in the mood for this. Once again, she as being prodded by a Turian who didn’t think she could hack it. 

“Okay, you know what, I really don’t have time or need to arm wrestle you for every little thing so put your money where your mouth is and lets do this…head to head…you name the scenario.” She snarled unmistakably throwing down the gauntlet. 

Vidinos smirked, he had heard she had Turian training and he could see it. “Ochren, set it up, timed capture, me versus the Commander.”

**

Ahern wasn’t exactly pleased with the grudge match that was about to happen but he left in alone as getting in the middle might be suicidal. Sidda wanted to get the hell out of here and he could understand that. He didn’t know the entire story about Saren but got the general gist of it and also knew that Saren murdered her friend. The kind of anger she carried he’d seen before and it worried him. 

Sidda winced slightly as she bent the wrong direction. The ribs that had been broken weren’t healed yet, when the armor was on it braced them but they still hurt. She cursed herself for finding a grudge match less than a day after she showed up. 

“Commander,” Ahern stated walking into the locker room without a second hesitation. “You’re either crazy or just shit stupid I can’t tell which.” He stated his tone filled with both surprise and irritation. 

Sidda chuckled slightly. “I’ve been accused of worse.”

“Magnus Vidinos trains Spectres for a living, Commander, he may not be a Spectre but he is the best when it comes to training.” Ahern stated and Sidda shifted the armor around to get comfortable. 

“He’s also an asshole blessed with an overabundance of ego.” She stated and Ahern eyed her still trying to decide if she crazy, brave, or stupid. 

“And you think you’re the one that’s going to take him down a notch?” he asked directly and Sidda closed the locker door finished with what she was doing. 

“Yes.” She answered promptly.

Ahern understood why she had the reputation that she had. “Well, you get an A+ for confidence, Commander, but I’m still trying to decide if you’re stupid, crazy, or brave.”

“A very good friend of mine named Damar would say all three.” She replied. 

“For the record, Commander, this is reckless and I advise against it.” He said as they headed out of the locker room out into the open with everyone else. “Unofficially…kick his ass, Commander.”

Sidda smiled and nodded to him, she wasn’t sure how she kept landing in the middle of a Turian grudge match. Either it was someone who didn’t think she had it or someone who was intimidated by her. She knew what she was doing but found that she had to prove that to nearly everyone. 

Near the entrance to the simulator Sidda was getting all her last minute equipment and checks from Garrus and Ashley.

“Commander, are you sure you want to do this?” Ashley asked and saw Sidda grimace again to the pain in her side.

“I’ll be fine.” She replied quickly. “Gonna put this son of a bitch in his place, get this training over with, and get back to the mission.” She stated as Garrus handed her the pistol.   
Sidda had seen him check the weapon but didn’t know him well enough to trust him blindly with her weapons like she would from Nov or Victus. She checked the weapon and waved off the assault rifle he passed her. “No, this is good.”

“Just the pistol?” Ashley asked and her face was colored with the same expression as Garrus’.

“You sure, Commander?” Garrus asked. 

“You’d be surprised what I can do with just this.” She stated and Garrus had to snort. She was either cocky or just that damn good he couldn’t tell which. “Okay, let’s do this.”

**

Sidda closed her eyes and prepared herself for what was about to take place. She could hear Ochren counting down to the start of this time limited, capture the flag against each other, and hampered by Geth. Whoever got through the Geth and captured the target first was the winner but they had to beat the three minute clock. 

A surge of adrenalin coursed through her body as the enemies spawned right on top of her. There were no restrictions on this match, so the bad guys spawned wherever the VI put them. Geth were chosen as the enemy as neither she nor Vidinos were technologically based so it added to the challenge. The Geth appeared on top of her and she immediately set out a shockwave to knock a good portion of them back and then proceeded to eliminate them as fast as she could. Ochren didn’t skimp on the difficulty, the Geth swarmed her but she continued to take them out and press forward toward the objective. It wasn’t just her being hindered, Vidinos was too. She caught a glimpse of him across the subterranean map but returned her attention back to her own field of guests. 

The mental timer in her head told her that she had to go if she was going to beat Vidinos, she wasn’t about to give that bastard the satisfaction of beating her but he was a Turian so there was a better than average chance that he just might kick her ass up around her ears. No matter how good she was and what training she’d had, a Turian had evolution on their side. 

As she made her way through the course, damn near of all of Pinnacle Station watched. Ahern paced knowing that there was a real possibility that both of them could be hurt or killed and he really didn’t want to explain that outcome to the Alliance or to the Council. Her team watched the legendary officer tear through the course with only a pistol. Garrus was already impressed by her skills on Therum but now he was seeing even more of them. The Alliance didn’t skimp with her N7 training and the Turian’s certainly did their best at turning her into a lethal weapon, of course the goal of this was not to kill Vidinos, just beat him.

“50 credits say Magnus takes her.” Burrum stated and Wrex scoffed to the other Krogan.

“You wish.” Wrex stated and Garrus was a little surprised to hear Wrex come down on Sidda’s side. Wrex hadn’t been on Therum to see her in action but he had been somewhat impressed by her skills so far during the training. 

“I got 100 that says she kicks his ass.” Garrus said, increasing the bet reflecting the confidence he had in her. Ashley raised her eyebrows to the big spender that was Garrus. 

“Against him?” Dagha replied. “I know her reputation but there’s no way she can beat him. Vidinos is the best for a reason, Spectre’s train against him because he’s the best.”

Garrus nodded but his confidence in Sidda was strong. He’d seen enough to know she was good and knew her grit and determination would put her on top. “Well, then let’s make it 200.” He replied and Kaidan laughed. 

“I’m with Garrus, she’s the Hero of Elysium.” Kaidan stated. “200 says the Commander wins.”

“Pick it up you two.” Ahern said into the comm., sounding irritated as usual. “The betting’s getting pretty heavy.”

The pool continued to grow as everyone observed the two powers going head to head. Sidda wasn’t kidding about her talent with the pistol; she spent one shot on each target, a headshot. Kaidan noticed that even though she was a biotic she used them minimally. He didn’t know it but that was a product of the Turian training. She’d learned to use the biotcs like she used her other weapons. 

They both reached the final checkpoint at the same time on opposite sides of the landing. Vidinos fired a burst from his rifle but she rolled under it and sprang up on his right. He was surprised how fast she moved and attempted to counter by turning back toward her to fire. She was close enough to hit him with the butt of her pistol and she smacked the Turian hard in the right side of the face. Vidinos growled as the attack on him only served to further piss him off. 

“One minute.” Ahern announced as Sidda managed to disarm Vidinos to the surprise of everyone watching.

“Where the hell’d she learn to do that?” Dahga asked. “That was damn effective.”

“Don’t forget who she is.” Kaidan stated. “She defended a colony until help arrived. Hours and hours of nonstop combat.” He finished his tone starting to sound more like hero worship than anything else.

All Vidinos had to do now was strip the pistol from her and it was melee fight, that was easier said than done because Vidinos was now realizing that she was exceptional. N7 trained and supplemented by Turian Special Ops, the ship she trained on carried the best…pity he didn’t notice that before now. He did manage to get rid of the weapon leveling the field again. Now it was hand to hand, Vidinos was bigger and a little more aggressive than Cerrus. Cerrus tolerated her but Vidinos didn’t want or need that luxury so he came at her hard. 

The audience watched as Vidinos tossed her around in what looked like choreographed moves. She was used to be flung around with her size it couldn’t be helped but thanks to training with Turians day in and day out for a year she’d learned how to land so she could get back into the fight. Something was different about how this fight looked. To those who were betting on Vidinos it really didn’t look good. The Turian had handedly beaten every opponent he’d gone up against but he was having trouble with her. Kaidan and Ashley saw their commanding officer kick the martial arts into high gear and heard her yelp as Vidinos landed three punches in a row right to the ribs that were broken. She managed to get away from him and jumped into a spinning back kick nailing Vidinos in the chest sending him staggering backward but he kept his feet. She ignored the pain in her side and went after the objective. He was between her and the objective. 

They clashed together again, both now desperate to get to the objective first, by her internal timer she had about 45 seconds to do just that but Vidinos had other ideas. They both had nearly forgotten about the timer on this as it had become a grudge match between two people who just met. She had enough of fucking with him and wanted this to end. She used her small size and flipped her legs up over his head locking them around his neck. Vidinos became unbalanced with the extra 150ish pounds of added weight. It had been a long time since she’d performed this move and had never tried it on a Turian. The weight and leverage flipped Vidinos forward, slamming him back first onto the deck. 

Vidinos saw stars, that was a hard landing and he felt it through his armor. Sidda got to her feet and collected the pistol seeing the timer at about 20 seconds. She tapped the pedestal and had to hold the position for 10 seconds panting hard from the exertion she just went through. 

“Time.” Ahern announced and the observation area erupted in cheers from her crew. Garrus held his hands up to take in the victory. 

Sidda turned back toward Vidinos and offered to help him up. Typical Turian though refused the help like most others that she offered the help too. 

**

She tried not to wince as she walked out of the simulator though her side felt like Cerrus went at it. Thankfully, the armor absorbed most of Vidinos’ impacts but it still hurt. She could hear the lecture from Dr. Chakwas now, something about fighting a Turian was not in the definition of take it easy for a few days. 

“Cdr. Shepard.” The young Lt. Bryant greeted as she passed extending his hand out to her. “Pleasure to see you in action, Ma’am.” He stated and Sidda shook his hand tightly for a moment before continuing on. 

“I’m still not sure which one you are, Commander, but that was a hell of a show.” Ahern stated and looked to Vidinos. “Both of you.”

Vidinos bristled a little to the hollow compliment from him since he was the loser in the fight. There was no good way in Vidinos’ mind to lose to a human but he had to admit she was everything she was cracked up to be. 

“You alright, Commander?” Kaidan asked looking her up and down. 

“I’ve felt worse.” She stated to him, and then looked to Garrus. “How much money did you make off me?”

“None.” He replied innocently almost playfully. 

Sidda scoffed. “You sure you’re a cop, Garrus, because you’re a terrible liar.”

**

Pinnacle Station was under orders to supply the Normandy so while Sidda and company were busy training and testing and kicking each other’s ass Ahern had his techs give the frigate a surplus of weapons, mods, and repair kits. The tone of Sidda’s crew had changed; for the most part they seemed to trust each other more drilling and training wasn’t the same as bonding during combat but it was close enough. Sidda was an easy person to get along with even with the bad attitude eating away at her right now. She and Garrus bonded instantly; it may have had something to do with the fact that Sidda found him attractive but the rest of the crew saw the strong bond and built on it. Wrex was a surprise; the Krogan wasn’t the friendliest guy but he was a team player. The other problem child was Ashley, the soldier wasn’t thrilled about working with aliens but she seemed to have bonded with Tali. 

Sidda began to gather up her men as it was about time to get going. “Commander.” A voice called stopping her. It was Vidinos, he was probably still sore over losing to her but he seemed to have taken it better than she thought he would. She stopped and faced him looking up at his towering figure. “You fought well. Whoever taught you knew what they were doing.” 

Sidda looked him up and down. He had the same look that Cerrus did when he was giving her a compliment or praising her about something. “You were a hell of an opponent.” She replied and saw the Turian straighten, obviously he had the same opinion of mutual compliments as Cerrus did. 

He sighed and got down the reason he stopped her. “You had the top score with pistols according to Ochren.” He said and handed her the sidearm she’d seen him carry the whole time she’d seen him on base. “Here. It’s better than the model you have and has extensive modifications.”

Sidda took it examining it and then looked up at him. “It’s not gonna blow up in my face or anything is it?” 

Vidinos’ expression narrowed. “It’s a gift, Commander, do you want it or not?” he growled. 

Sidda snorted to the typical ill-tempered Turian tone. “Gift or trophy?” she asked and Vidinos’ expression told her everything. “Alright.” She relented noting that her sarcasm wasn’t getting her anywhere but further to another conflict with him. “I accept…thank you.”

Vidinos nodded finally. “May I ask a favor, Commander?” he added and Sidda’s eyes narrowed sharply. First he tried to kick her ass then he asked for a favor? This day just kept getting better and better. “Nihlus Kryik was a friend of mine as well.” He stated. “You find Saren and you use that gun to put a bullet in his head.”

Sidda nodded to him. “That’s a favor I’ll do for you.” She said. “And for Nihlus and for Deliah and for myself.” 

Vidinos gave her a sharp nod, he’d said his peace and left her stand there with the new pistol. It was a Spectre pistol same as hers but it had obvious modifications, it was all black with the tell-tale red light of the Spectre weapons. She couldn’t wait to fire it honestly. 

“Commander, the Normandy’s set to leave.” Liara stated approaching her. “Adm. Ahern’s men are finished loading all the supplies. The crew is heading back to the ship now.” 

Sidda looked up to the Asari and nodded. “Thank you, Liara.” She said and lingered a moment looking at the new pistol in her hand. Liara studied the woman; everyone could see the anger that was building, or barely hanging on, inside her. Fighting Vidinos was a way to channel the overload of rage but now she wanted to get back out there and track the man who murdered her friend. 

Liara stepped toward her as Sidda stared down at the weapon, she had no idea what was running through her mind. “Commander?” she asked jogging her out of the trance.

Sidda snapped out of her trance and walked forward with purpose. “Let’s go.” She stated quickly and Liara fell in with her. She didn’t know her well and honestly didn’t have much experience with humans but noticed that there was something not quite right with her. It was the anger, the rage, the monster inside that needed to be let out on her target before it blew up in their face. They needed to find Saren and they needed to do it now.


	22. The Not So Simple Plan

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Twenty Two: The Not So Simple Plan

Joker’s voice carried through Sidda’s quarters; she was busy sleeping off a rough mission on some frozen icebox that had a minor lead on whatever the ‘Conduit’ was that Saren was searching for. It was said the planet had a Prothean ruin or two but it turned out to be a fruitless venture. Running around on the planet that was a frigid environmental hazard was not her idea of fun and she nearly throttled Liara when she found nothing worthwhile on the planet. There was another fun and exciting excursion in the Mako with Sidda at the helm but that was a tale for another day. 

“Commander?” Joker questioned and got no response from her. “Commander? Hello?”

Sidda groaned and pulled the blankets off her face. “What?” she snapped.

“You have a message coming in…its coded in with a Turian scrambler.” Joker stated and Sidda sat up, sharply regretting it immediately while putting her hand on her still sore ribs.

“Oh, son of a bitch.” She hissed and got out of bed. “Put it through here.” She was slow to get up as the past few weeks had taken a toll on her body. 

The screen at the desk changed to the face of one specific Turian, her Turian. She knew it was him calling on a scrambled Turian channel so didn’t bother to put a shirt over the black sports bra. Her bruised side was clearly visible and that was the first thing that he saw. “Sid…are you okay?”

“Yep, Krogan…me…bad combination.” She stated and smiled looking at him. 

Victus narrowed his expression. “Everything alright?”

“No.” she replied simply and sighed. “God, it’s good to see you.”

Victus’ tone told her something was off. He was happy to see her as well but he had something she needed to see. “You too...” he said and sighed deeply. “but this isn’t a social call, Sid, I have some information for you and you’re gonna want to see it.”

Her eyes narrowed to his tone. “What is it?”

“I’m not going to say over the comm even if the line is scrambled.” He stated. “I’m transmitting coordinates with this, I need to see you there…as soon as possible.”

“What the problem?” she asked. 

“Just meet me, Sid, please.” He said and Sidda nodded. 

“Be there as soon as we can.” She said and Victus lingered a moment as she saw him look her up and down. 

“One more thing.” He said and she cocked her head to him.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“Take that top off.” He stated and if a wolfish smile had a tone Victus’ was it. 

Sidda blushed a little and leaned forward on the desk giving him a nice cleavage view. “When I see you.” She said and heard Victus purr. “You can have all you want.”

**

The Normandy appeared out of thin air as its mass effect core spat them out only a few 100 kliks off of where Joker had intended it to be. With Sidda standing behind him he almost felt like he was under a microscope, Kaidan in the navigation seat snorted as the pilot kept glancing over his should trying to see if the Commander was still there. Sidda wasn’t interested in Joker’s piloting skills, she knew he could jump them across the galaxy and everything would be fine, she was more interested in the cryptic things Adrien had said. He said he had information for her but didn’t want to share it over a totally scrambled Turian comm line. That was the odd part, whatever he had was big. 

Joker piloted the nose around and the forward view ports filled with familiar Turian frigate. Easily twice the size of the Normandy, the Lante dwarfed its hybrid cousin. She may have outsized and out gunned the Normandy but she definitely couldn’t out run her. The Tantalus core was a prize to have but not very cost effective to install.

The Normandy shook as the Lante docked with it. Victus’ message said he had some information on Saren that she might want to see. After what happened to Nihlus and being made a Spectre her emotions were all over the place. There was no doubt in her mind Victus would be a welcome sight. In truth, the crew of the Lante was going to be a welcome sight…except for Rajin. She’d married Nihlus less than a year ago and Sidda wasn’t looking forward to facing her. 

The airlock cycled and opened revealed Victus’ towering figure. Sidda smiled, she was so happy to see him. “Adrien…” she stated with the biggest brightest smile she could muster. “you have no idea how good it is to see you.”

News about what happened to Nihlus, Saren’s disgrace, and the subsequent galaxy wide manhunt for him spread through Turian space. “I can imagine.” He replied stepping forward to her observing her body language. “You alright?” he asked and she minded her surroundings. The CIC, the cockpit, lots of people watching. 

She maintained her professionalism. “You want a tour?”

Victus maintained the professionalism as well and straightened, like he usually did when there was something important that he had to do. “Later. We need to talk. Maridus will be along soon to join us.”

Sidda nodded to his directness, she always loved that about him. He didn’t beat around the bush or hum and ha over things. He was typically short, sweet, and to the point. He’d done that with her when they’d met. He saw something he wanted and went for it and now they had a stable relationship that wasn’t popular with everyone. She led him through the CIC and to the Comm room that doubled as the briefing room. 

The door closed behind them and she felt his arms scoop her up and turned her toward him. He pressed his forehead to hers and held her tight against him. “Are you okay?” he asked noticing that she wasn’t acting like herself. He’d heard of the flurry of things that happened all in the span of a few days and hoped that it didn’t overwhelm her. She already looked like she was barely hanging on and he wanted to do everything he could to help her. 

Sidda really wasn’t okay but she didn’t want to get into that right now, there was too much for her to do to fall apart now. She stroked his left mandible with her right hand and stretched up as far as she could to kiss him. He helped the short human and bent down so their mouths met. She felt better now that he was here but it was only a stop gap. She broke from the kiss by returning to a flat footed stance. “I don’t want to get into that now…let’s take care of this first.” She stated and turned away from him leaving him slightly confused by her actions, pulling away from him wasn’t like her. “So what’s the secret information?” she asked spurring the conversation on and Victus went with it for now.

He walked up to the far console and input an OSD. “Desala was able to track odd shipments to Rothla.” He stated and Sidda narrowed her eyes. 

That name rang a bell. “Rothla. Why do I know that?” she asked. 

“In the Krogan DMZ.” Maridus chimed in joining them. “Nice ship, Sidda.” He greeting as she gave him a hug. “How are you doing?”

She took a step back from him and snorted. “Tired of people asking me that.” She replied. 

Maridus nodded to her tone and moved past it. “Rothla was the site of a mystery weapon built by the Krogans during the rebellions. Whatever it was it blew the ice dwarf planet into pieces but no one knows what it was because it killed everyone on the planet as well. To appease the galactic community it’s a no fly zone for anyone. CDEM maintains a strict quarantine of the debris field.”

“So when Desala’s intelligence contacts found odd shipments she did some more digging and found and found this.” Victus said and showed them on the briefing display. “Palaven Intelligence shows a base on one of the larger chunks is fully functional.”

Sidda’s eyes narrowed. “So how do you know this is connected to Saren?” she stated. “Those shipments could be for CDEM…and the Council is just sneaky enough to put a base in the middle of it to keep an eye on everyone.”

“Rumors mainly according to Desala.” He said. “Listening posts and spy drones have captured images of Geth, somehow able to get in under the nose of the Council.”

Sidda blinked; there was an obvious question that she had to ask. “Wait, wait. If this planet is supposed to be demilitarized by the Council and the Turians are the enforcers why haven’t you done something about it before now?”

“Command doesn’t know I’m here with this. Desala found this and this image of Saren in the Rothla field a week ago. Palaven Intel probably thought it was Spectre related but given recent events with Saren on Eden Prime...it’s likely this is a base of his because he had no other reason to be there.” Victus replied and Sidda pressed a button to start flipping through the data. 

“We’ll need a little more intelligence on its specs on the ground before we do anything.” Sidda said and Victus looked from her to Maridus and then back again. 

“You’ll need to.” He emphasized and she cocked her head confused, he read the expression and preempted the question. “If Palaven Command knew I was here giving you this information I would be court martialed, but I want that bastard caught same as you.”

Sidda leaned on the console away from him and thought a moment. She understood that his hands were tied and appreciated the lengths he went to give her this. “We can use the stealth drive, get in, take some detailed scans, and get out.”

“I can’t go in with you but I can give you some help. Two men and any support aid we can give you, name who you want.” Victus said and Sidda appreciated the help. She had a chance to strike at Saren, if in fact that this was good and current intelligence. 

With the first-hand knowledge of the Lante’s personnel she thought a moment about who she wanted. Victus was her first choice. The seasoned General was second to no one but she got the feeling that there was no way in hell he would be able to come along even if he wanted to. Maridus was a top choice also. The tech infiltrator was a well-rounded operator and he was skilled with a sniper rifle, but the issues with picking the both of them was that would exhaust the Lante’s commanding officer and executive officer leaving, in all likelihood, Cerrus in command maybe Ruvio. “I’m going to assume you two are off limits.” She said and they both looked at each other. Maridus was flattered that he was among her first choices. Victus nodded and that was what she figured. With the elimination of those two there was one name she knew she wanted and one name she needed but could do without. “Nov and Cerrus then.”

Victus could have bet money on Nov being a name she wanted. Those two were like two peas in a pod regardless about how he felt about it. Victus managed to keep his hackles down while thinking about Sidda and Nov working together and trusted the woman he loved. Her selecting Cerrus was a little surprising. She was either tactically brilliant or a glutton for punishment since Cerrus would probably fight her every step of the way. “You sure?” he asked confirming her choices.

She nodded confident in who she wanted and the reasons why. “I need a planner if we wind up assaulting that base and you said it yourself…Cerrus is the best and Cal can handle anything I throw at him.”

“Are you recruiting new members to our rag tag band, Shepard?” another Turian voice said from the door to the briefing room. Maridus recognized it immediately and snorted.   
“Well, she must be desperate for help because she’s got you here.” Maridus shot back making Garrus chuckle. The two clasped their right hands together in a grip that was all the way up to the others elbows. “It’s been too long, Garrus.” Maridus greeted his best friend in the whole wide world. 

Garrus nodded to that. He hadn’t seen his childhood friend in about two years and that was too long for either of them. Garrus had no brothers and Maridus was an only child, together they were brothers. “Yes it has. How’s Solana?” he asked.

“Good. Very good.” Maridus answered. “Did she tell you the news? You’re gonna be an uncle?”

That took Sidda by surprise and she blinked and Garrus nodded to Maridus. “She did. Congratulations, Dad.” He replied making Maridus chuckle.

Sidda folded her arms across her chest as Victus stood behind her left shoulder. “The last time I talked to you I asked you if there was anything new going on…you didn’t think ‘Damar is going to be a dad’ qualified as news?” she asked and Victus dropped his head.

“I forgot, I’m sorry.” He replied and Sidda snorted letting him know that she wasn’t mad.

“Congratulations, Damar.” She stated and Maridus nodded to her appreciating the sentiment. “So this is the infamous duo I was warned about; Garrus Vakarian and Damar Maridus.”

“You’re looking at the two best snipers the academy has ever seen.” Maridus stated and Garrus scoffed.

“Actually, I’m the best…he is a distant second.” Garrus replied and cocked his head.

“Distant second?” Maridus questioned. “Distant second, that’s what you’re going with? You missed the measly 800 meter shot, your greatness.”

“But I still won the tournament.” Garrus stated and Maridus turned toward his lifelong friend leaving Sidda and Victus forgotten. 

“Because you cheated.” Maridus replied bluntly.

“I didn’t cheat, I just bent the rules.” Garrus shot back with a smirk as Sidda snickered. 

“Bent? Bent? Try broke, Vakarian.”

“So which one of you two is the better shot?” Sidda asked and Victus looked down at her sharply nearly scolding her for fanning the flames. 

“I am.” They both replied in unison. 

“I am the best shot, Garrus. A pretty girl yelled your name and you missed…consistency amid distraction is kind of important for a Sniper.” Maridus prattled on and Sidda chuckled at the thought of Garrus missing a simple shot because of a girl.

“My record at the academy still stands as does the one at C-Sec.” Garrus stated proudly. “Even your mother says I’m a better shot than you.”

Maridus eyed his friend. “Well, she always did like you more than me.”

“And the great debate continues.” Garrus stated and looked to Sidda. “I’m sorry, Commander, General.” 

They both waved off the childish display and Sidda found it quite amusing. “Damar, can you get Nov and Cerrus onboard please?” Victus asked as they all headed out of the briefing room, now that they had a general plan of what they were going to be doing. 

As they left the briefing room and walked passed the galaxy map they heard a commotion coming from the airlock. “Ma’am, you do not have authorization to come onboard.” She heard one of her marines say, and when she got closer to the scuffle she recognized the Turian female arguing with one of the Alliance Marines.

“Hold on. Hold on, Corporal, it’s okay.” Sidda stated and the soldier immediately backed off. 

Sidda looked the Turian up and down, the tall figure with the black hand print face markings and silvery eyes…this was a meeting Sidda had been dreading. “Deliah.”

Rajin punched Sidda in the mouth so hard it knocked Sidda off her feet. She fell back and felt the back of her head bounce off the deck. Rajin’s hit stunned her but she heard Maridus bark at her. 

“Hey! Get your ass back to the Lante, Lieutenant, now!” he barked at her. 

“No.” Sidda managed and sat up with the assistance from Victus on the right and Garrus on the left. Her hand went to the back of her head and she hissed in pain but felt no blood. “Deliah-…” she began but was cut off.

“You were supposed to watch his back!” Rajin barked.

Sidda wiped the blood from her mouth. “I tried, Deliah, I reall-…”

“Not hard enough!” she roared taking a step toward the smaller human and Maridus stepped in the way. “He was proud that the Council accepted his recommendation and you let him die!”

Everything Rajin was saying was the truth; it was her fault that Nihlus was dead so she didn’t blame Rajin for actions right now. She said nothing and just listened but Victus saw the expression on her face. He turned his attention from her to his subordinate, Rajin was hurting right now and he honestly couldn’t blame her. “Get back to the ship, Lieutenant, I’ll deal with you later.” He stated and it took a moment for Rajin’s cold glare to shift from Sidda and up to him. 

“No. No.” Sidda stated and she looked to Garrus. “Garrus, could you take her down below so she can go through Nihlus’ locker?”

Garrus nodded and gestured for Rajin to come with him. The Turian female was angry and hurt and probably emotionally distraught. 

**

Sidda’s anger was reaching the breaking point and that was something that Victus could see plain as day. If she was pissed off before with everything that was going on she was even more so now since she’d been flattened by Rajin and accused of allowing Nihlus to be killed whether it be intentional or accidental. Her mouth was bleeding from the hit, and even he’d heard her head smack the deck when she fell, so she probably had a major headache now. 

He followed her into her quarters as she moved with angry purpose. “Sidda, are you alright?” he asked again this time trying to get an answer out of her. 

“No.” she snapped back as the door to her quarters closed behind Victus.

“Then talk to me.” He said in a tone that rang more of a plea. 

Sidda finally snapped as she picked up a cloth to dab at the blood that was still leaking from her mouth. “I told Nihlus to wait!” she barked. “The stubborn bastard ignored me.”

Victus stepped close to her and put a hand on her arm. “It’s not your fault.” He said. “Nihlus was a soldier…a damn good one-…”

Sidda shook his hand off her arm and stepped away from him. He’d never seen her so angry, this beat out the tantrum she threw when Cerrus disobeyed an order she gave him. “And shot in the back by someone he trusted because he didn’t have someone there to watch his back!” She snapped sounding angry with herself. “Me. I wasn’t there to help him!” 

Victus replaced his hand on her arm and Sidda tried to shake it away again, angry and upset but Victus didn’t let her go. “Sidda…it’s not your fault.”

“It is my fault! Who else’s fault would it be?” she barked back and Victus answered. 

“Saren’s.” He answered firmly. “Not yours.”

Sidda composed herself, a little embarrassed that she came unglued like that. The rage burned so deep within her, she’d never felt like this before. She’d been angry and upset but this was completely different. “I have never wanted to kill someone more than I want to kill Saren. I’ve never wanted to reach down someone’s throat and rip their heart out as badly as I wanna do right now.” She stated calmly and Victus hand a hand on both shoulders trying to get her to calm down.

Victus quietly observed her; he couldn’t help the sense of worry. “You’ll get him, Sid, and I’m gonna help you do it.” 

Sidda let herself fall into an embrace and he was more than happy to wrap his arms around her and give her all the comfort and support she needed. 

**

A few hours later Victus had returned to the Lante to scold the hell out of Rajin for acting entirely unprofessional and for slugging his girlfriend. He could understand how she was feeling but he still expected a certain level of decorum from his officers. Sidda felt a little better, being comforted by Victus in more ways than one helped relieve the stress to a point. Rajin’s words still rang through loud and clear. She was responsible for Nihlus’ death; she was supposed to watch his back not let someone put a bullet in it. 

She had hashed out a few mission details with Joker and Pressley and had decided not to tell the Council that she was about to invade a Krogan DMZ no fly zone, although the look on Sparatus’ face would have been worth it. Joker, of course had no problem using the stealth system to spy on Rothla, the site of one of the biggest urban legends in the galaxy, but Pressley was decidedly against it. That man followed the rules to the letter but he was decent first officer. 

Sidda and Garrus’ discussion about her Mako driving skills carried through the Bay loud enough for Ashley to join in. The vote was unanimous; Sidda was a terrifying Mako driver. 

“This thing is a tank, Sidda, not a Skycar.” Garrus stated and Sidda passed it off.

“Then maybe we should get a ground vehicle that can keep up with me, Garrus.” She replied.

“Or, you could let one of us drive…you know…someone who has a license to drive not a license to render the occupants into organic goo.” Garrus stated and Sidda turned her head toward him.

“Are you saying I’m a bad driver?” she asked and the Turian stammered.

“Not at all…” Ashley chimed in. “We’re saying you’re a horrible driver.” She stated and Sidda glowered between the two of them. “I’ve never been carsick a day in my life, Skipper, one ride with you…”

Sidda scoffed to them. “Fine…next time we go out ya’ll get to fight over who gets to drive.”

Ashley and Garrus looked at each other sharply. “I do.” They both said in unison.

“So, besides voicing your displeasure of my driving skills, Garrus, how is the Mako?”

“As I said before…you damn near broke the front axle launching off an 800 foot drop but other than that…it’s fine…would be better if you’d let someone else drive.”

“You sound like a mother hen.” She retorted and Garrus cocked his head.

“I don’t know what that is, Commander, and I’m not sure if I like it.”

Sidda continued to banter with Garrus and Ashley about the condition of the Mako after she drives it or launches it off a mountain. Her conversation carried on as the elevator door opened, Sidda was locked into the conversation she was having and paid the door no mind. Garrus and Ashley saw two Turians step off the lift. One with bright red paint on his face and the other with subtle purple markings, they were from the Lante, Garrus knew that. The one with red paint held his right forefinger to his lips telling them to be quiet as the other one seemed uninterested in what was going on. 

The red painted one crept up behind Sidda and snatched her up with the quickness of a cat. Sidda yelped, startled, and was slung over the left shoulder of the Turian. “Hi, I’m looking for Cdr. Shepard. She’s got brown hair, about yey high, have you seen her?” Nov asked indicating her height his chest. 

She stifled the grimace in her tender left side. “Cal, put me down.” Sidda said figuring out almost immediately whose shoulder she was slung over. “Hi, Cerrus.”

“Commander.” He replied simply. 

Nov bent forward and set her back on her feet with a chuckle. “Oh, there she is.”

Sidda couldn’t help but giggle to the class clown that was Callus Nov. “Well, I see your shoulder’s better.” She stated patting the once shattered shoulder. “How ya doing, Cal?”

Nov dipped his head to her respectfully; she was the one person he dreamed of seeing for a year. “Better now, how are you?” he replied and Sidda’s smile remained but her cheeks flushed a little. She spared him the truthful answer about how she was doing and turned toward the others. 

“Guys, this is Capt. Cerrus and Lt. Nov from the Lante. This is Chief Williams and-…”

“Garrus Vakarian.” Nov finished. “I remember...you’re Solana’s brother.”

“Callus Nov…I remember you too.” Garrus replied and they shook hands.

“And it’s ‘Captain’ Nov now.” Nov stated and Sidda looked at him surprised. 

“A promotion…congratulations, Captain.” She stated shaking his hand. 

Nov nodded to her and was elated to see her again. He was screaming inside and had been since being told that they were meeting up with her new ship. Outside he kept it all under wraps, he had to act professional. “Thank you.” He replied kindly, he wanted so bad to get the download from her. Where she’d been, what she’d done, how she was in the past year but that would have to wait. They were here for a purpose and that needed to be tended to first. 

“Garrus, can you take them to the briefing room. Chief, help me round everyone else up.” She said and they both nodded disbursing to all congregate in the briefing room. Nov and Cerrus knew why they were there but the rest of her crew didn’t know that they were about to spy on a debris field right under the Council’s nose.”

**

The Briefing Room was at capacity, with Sidda and her team present she was also joined by Cerrus, Nov, Maridus, and Victus. Even Joker made his way from the cockpit to the briefing room to be present for this. Sidda allowed Maridus to conduct the briefing and leaned on the wall next to Victus. She still wasn’t herself, the more she stood idle the worse she got, she wanted Saren dead and she wanted him dead now. She had plans for Saren’s head and preferred it on a pike in the CIC. Victus was worried about her, the rage made her determined but also careless. 

Sidda listened quietly as Maridus explained the Intelligence they had gathered and that its location made it worth investigating. She had seen enough, Geth had been sighted and Saren as well. 

“Rothla?” Tali questioned. “Is that even considered a planet?”

“Technically no. Not anymore.” Maridus answered and caught the look of the Krogan in his audience. He was surprised to even find a Krogan minding his manners in a room of Turians. It was odd, really odd. “During the Krogan Rebellions it was the site of a mystery explosion that destroyed nearly all of the planet. The majority of it is now a giant debris field but almost an eighth of the planet surface is intact, curvature and all…that’s where this little base is located.”

“What destroyed it?” Kaidan asked. What happened to Rothla was one of the biggest mysteries in the galaxy. It was fun to speculate over it but the truth was no one really knew, not even the Krogan. 

The entire room seemed to look at Wrex who looked back at them and held his hands out to the side with a shrug. “What the hell are you all looking at me for? The Clan on that planet was killed when the planet was destroyed.”

“Theory is it was some planetary super weapon that backfired during a test and destroyed the planet.” Nov stated and now it was time for the archaeologist to weigh in. 

“Another theory was the ‘super biotic’.” She stated and Maridus nodded with a snort.

“That one’s my favorite.” He stated. “The Krogan breeding a super biotic army powerful enough to destroy the Turian fleet and turn the tide of the rebellion.” He recounted, now getting drawn into one of his favorite legends. “There was a novel written by Maleen Sevrus called the Rothla Experiment, it’s my favorite you should try it.” He said to Liara.  
The Asari scientist smiled to him and nodded excited that someone else saw this type of history just as fascinating. “Oh I have, it’s a fascinating piece of fiction.” She replied. “You should try The Event by Leandra Taine.”

Sidda rubbed her forehead as she saw various members of the crew start to fidget. “Could we get back to it, please.” She asked and the ‘please’ was there merely for formality as her tone reflected her impatience. 

Maridus had to admit he got carried away by something that had fascinated him since he was little kid. “Sorry, Commander.”

“Nerd.” Nov muttered loud enough for the room to hear causing several snorts, snickers, and stifled laughs. 

Sidda was growing more and more impatient with each passing minute. “So if you know where the base is, why hasn’t the quarantine garrison picked it up? Obviously it’s not supposed to be there.” She huffed trying to move this along.

“Could be just an oversight.” Victus answered. “The Quarantine is meant to keep people out not keep tabs on the debris field beyond looking for rogue ricochets.”

“Palaven Intel found it and they didn’t even know what they were looking for.” She challenged and Victus looked down at her, her tone was harsher than normal.

“Desala’s theory though, and I suggest you operate under this, is that Saren had paid the garrison to look the other way.” Maridus added and Sidda felt the urge to kill Saren surge within. 

“Regardless, we’re going to need more information. Confirm what’s down there before we go in.” Garrus stated and the majority of the room agreed. 

“We can use the stealth system to get into the field.” Joker stated and looked at the holo image of the Rothla Field that Maridus had input into the system. “But the trajectory of all the debris…we might need an erratic flight plan to look like a chunk of debris. Depends on how close the CDEM is looking.”

“Why don’t we just jump in, blow the base and get out, be done with it.” Sidda stated and the room fell silent. 

Cerrus’ eyes narrowed. “Because you need intelligence, Commander.” He stated. She was a smart commander he knew that. She knew the value of information and given that from what he understood of what was going on with Saren, the Geth, and the Reapers they needed all the intelligence they could get. 

“He’s right.” Kaidan agreed. “Saren is searching for the ‘Conduit’ we don’t know what that is.” The biotic said and Victus could see Sidda’s temper starting to reach its peak. “We need to get down there and plug into their computers and see what data we can capture.”

“And we don’t even know if Saren’s here.” Garrus put in. “This could be a secret base of his or a secret listening post for the Council that none of us are supposed to know about.”  
“I agree.” Maridus said. “You definitely need more intelligence before you do anything, Sid.”

Sidda stood up straight sharply losing her cool. “Alright!” she barked and then calmed her tone realizing that she just snapped at all of them. Apologizing would be pointless so she just moved on. “Joker, can you get us in without being seen and keep us hidden long enough to gather more information?”

There was only one answer to that. Whether he could or not, Joker’s ego wouldn’t let him say no. “Yes, Ma’am.”

“Fine.” She said sharply. “Draw up a plan with Pressley, when you’re ready we’ll execute. Dismissed.” She said and walked out first leaving the rest of her crew a little confused by her outburst. Nov and Victus locked eyes, they both could tell she wasn’t herself right now.

Victus jogged after her as she power-walked down the steps, presumably heading to her quarters. “Sid.” He called and increased his speed to duck in front of her mid-way down the steps. “Sid, wait.” Sidda stopped sharply and looked up at him. She wasn’t angry or upset with him in any way, it was actually a relief to have him here but she couldn’t help herself now. There were too many emotions jockeying for position and she couldn’t tell what ones were hers and what ones came from that damn beacon. “Are you okay?”

Her eyes narrowed. “I swear, if someone asks me that again I’m going to punch them.” She threatened and he straightened his posture. 

He got right to the point with her because he sensed that fencing with her was likely going to get him shot. “You are not acting like yourself. Now you can try to punch me but I’m going to ask you this anyway and I expect an answer.” He said firmly. She was stubborn just like him and he was reasonably confident that she wouldn’t try to kill him because of her shorter than normal temper. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She replied but he didn’t believe her and she saw that. “Adrien, I’m fine. I just want this to be done. I want to find Saren, kill him, and I want his head decorating the galaxy map.”

Victus blinked. “Well, that’s brutally poetic but you need to calm down.” He coaxed and she looked down away from him. He put his hand on her left shoulder trying to figure out how to help her focus on something beyond killing Saren. 

She nodded to him knowing full well that he right. “I’ll be okay, Adrien, I promise.” She said and stepped close to him hugging him tight a closing her eyes. Victus responded by doing the same and held her there.

“I don’t want to see you hurt, okay.” He said and stayed there for a moment before bottling up all her issues and took a step back with a deep breath. 

“You and Damar might want to get back to the Lante. When Joker is ready we’re going to execute this little flyby and see what we come up with.” She stated and Victus nodded. He almost didn’t want to leave, he was worried enough to risk a court marital but knew she would fight him every step. She was as stubborn as he was but he also knew that she could handle anything the galaxy threw at her. The part that worried about her was trumped by the part that was exceedingly confident in her.

Joker was more than capable to handle the recon while acting like a chunk of debris to fool the patrol. Sidda left Pressley and Joker in charge of the recon and joined Nov and Cerrus in the Cargo Bay. Cerrus’ job was to plan, he knew that. Whatever the recon came back with would start his task, but first he needed an inventory of what the Normandy had on hand. The ship had been stocked at both the Citadel and Pinnacle Station so its arsenal was enough to make any gun bunny cheer. His problem was getting around Ashley, who trusted the Turian no further than she could throw him. They were already snipping and bickering and Sidda did her best to ignore them both. 

“Hey,” Nov greeted as he approached the gun bench she was hunched over. “we got some time to kill…you wanna spar?”

“No.” she answered, flatly and Nov was caught a little off guard. She was always up for a spar with him, or at least she had been in the past.

“Oh, come on…bet you haven’t had a decent sparring partner since you left.” He encouraged and she let out a loud growl. 

“I said no, Cal, what part of that don’t you get?” she barked and the tall Turian cocked his head to her very peculiar attitude. Her voice carried over the Cargo Bay and everyone fell silent. 

Nov took a half step back from her reading her body language, she may have been occupied with what she was doing but he still didn’t want to be in striking distance. “Sid, are you okay?” he asked and she snapped slamming the tools down on the bench and spun to face him.

“Would people stop asking me that!” she roared. “No, I’m not fucking okay! I got my friend killed and I’m chasing another Spectre without a clue on where he is! I got this alien shit downloaded into my brain and I can’t even make sense of it! All I know is that I’m responsible for what happened on Eden Prime and I want Saren dead, NOW, while everyone else is walking around like ‘aw shucks, a Spectre died in the process and you missed Saren on Eden Prime, no problem catch him next time’. It is a problem, a big fucking problem. I got Nihlus killed and they made me a Spectre for it, so don’t fucking ask me if I’m okay!” she yelled at him. Her heart was racing, and she could feel her cheeks flushed and hot with the rage that finally found an outlet. 

She had gained quite the audience as her voice carried loud enough to be heard clear into the Engine Room. Tali and Adams stood in the door way observing as Garrus, Ashley, Cerrus, and Wrex all stopped what they were doing to do the same. 

Nov eyed Sidda trying to figure out how to force her past the misplaced responsibility she felt for Nihlus’ death. Her attitude was seriously starting to get on his nerves as he knew exactly what type of solider and leader she was. He could understand the guilt as he still felt the guilt of losing two of his own men. “It’s not your fault, Sid, none of this is.”

Once again he said what she didn’t want to hear. Honestly, she didn’t know what she wanted to hear from anyone. Was it her fault or wasn’t it? Rajin’s stance was pretty clear and that hurt her on some level. She cared about Nihlus and couldn’t help but blame herself for the error in judgement that sent him off on that planet alone. She put all her weight into a violent shove into Nov’s chest making him stagger backward a few steps.

Nov had enough of this. This wasn’t Sidda. “Alright, fuck this, get over here.” He ordered and his tone surprised her a little, she didn’t know why after taking her rage out on him.   
“What?” she growled in a tone of ‘how dare you take that tone with me’.

He pointed to the center track in the cargo bay that clear and flat. “Get over here or I’m gonna drag you over here myself.” He snapped sternly making her realize that he wasn’t playing. 

“I am not in the mood for your games, Cal.” She hissed and Nov growled, he stormed over to her and roughly snatched her left wrist doing exactly what he said he’d do.

“This is not a fucking game.” He growled and yanked her along into the middle of the cargo bay. 

Sidda struggled against his grip, Nov would never hurt her but she honestly wasn’t sure what he was doing. “Let me go, Cal.” She barked.

“No.” he barked back. “Not until you start acting like the Sidda I know.” Sidda’s temper spiked and she swung at Nov. He released her arm and blocked the strike easily and took Sidda down hard on her back. She grunted as she felt the impact in her head and shoulders. “You need to start acting like the leader you are or Saren is going to beat you.” He snapped in her face and Sidda flared her biotics to knock him back and toss him off of her. 

“I’m gonna put Saren in the fucking grave.” She growled and got to her feet quickly as Nov recovered. He stalked toward her and got inches from her face. She was a stubborn woman and the angry wallowing was pissing him off. 

“Then do it!” he yelled. “Let Nihlus go and do your fucking job!”

She ground her teeth and shoved him back sharply. “Let Nihlus go? He died because of me.”

Nov mirrored her aggressive posture. “What happened to him was not your fault.” 

“It was my fault, I was in command…I should never have let him go alone.”

“No, you shouldn’t have, but you can’t control everything, you know that and so did he.”

“Don’t you dare blame Nihlus!” she roared.

“I’m not but he knew the risks and accepted them. Things happen, Sid, let it go.”

“Let it go?” she questioned barely tempering her furious tone. “You’re one to talk…have you gotten over Zek and Tobius?”

That was below the belt, relevant or not and his own temper flared. He gave Sidda a solid punch to her already bruised mouth. “That’s different and you know that.” He growled. “I killed them by my own hand…last I checked you didn’t shoot Nihlus in the back of the head.” Sidda tasted the blood filling her mouth and closed her eyes to the familiar pain. That was meant to hurt her. She wiped the blood from the reopened wound from Rajin and her gaze narrowed to him as if marking her target. “Come on, Sid, take it out on me.” He said quietly. 

As they clashed together Ashley took a step to go a stop this but found Cerrus’ arm blocking her. She shoved the Turian’s and away with an evil glare. “Get your hand away from me.”

Cerrus let the snarky humans tone go. “Leave them be.” He said and she sneered to him.

“That may be how Turians do it but I’m not going to let him try to beat on her.” She stated in a condescending tone.

“Just leave them alone. He won’t hurt her.” He assured as Nov blocked Sidda’s enraged attacked. “He never would.”

She was normally more precise; this made it easier for Nov to see her attacks coming and block them. That didn’t mean this was one sided, enraged and inaccurate or not she was still holding her own against him. He was making sure that he didn’t hit too hard or hurt her…that was not the intention. He blocked a right hook and found she had left her left side open for a counter and he punched her low on the ribcage. Sidda dropped to one knee with a cry of pain putting her left hand over the tender ribs that couldn’t catch a single break. 

The cry of pain was real and he worried he actually hurt her. “Sid-…” he began and she muster the last defiance she had taking another swing at him. He caught it and trapped her arm behind her back pulling her into what looked like a hug. He had both of her hands trapped behind her back and looked down at her find her rage filled hazel eyes staring back at him. “That’s enough, that’s enough.” He said quietly loud enough for only her to hear. Her anger fizzled as the rage finally met an outlet when she’d erupted on him…next to Victus he was the last person she wanted to see her like this. “Calm down.”

“Cal, I-…” she began as he let go of her arms and she felt him clasp his hands together holding her in a close hug. 

“Shh…it’s okay.” He cooed and saw the crowd start to disburse, receiving ire from Ashley as she was herded out of the cargo bay by Cerrus. He felt her hands come under his and grip the back of his tunic as she buried her face in his chest knowing what was coming. He got the rage now it was time for the guilt, he heard her begin to sob and then scream into his chest. He said nothing and just stayed as the outlet for her, he’d done this before with Shala but this was nothing like that. Sidda needed to move on and if kicking her ass and then letting her cry was how that was going to happen it was fine with that. Victus might kill him but his priority was Sidda. She was the leader, the person tasked with finding Saren and if she was going to do that she needed her head on straight. 

**

After the blowout in the Cargo Bay things seemed to return to normal but no one had seen or heard from Sidda after she vanished from Nov’s presence. She only rematerialized when Joker indicated that they had all the information that they needed and jumped out of the Rothla Field and back to the rendezvous point with the Lante. The Normandy didn’t dock with the Turian frigate, instead she sat at idle as Sidda gave Cerrus all the gathered information and asked him for his specialty; a plan that wouldn’t fail. The ill-tempered Turian was happy to oblige and took over the briefing room to plan the assault on the secret base that was definitely not where it should be. If they crashed a Council base they’d apologize later but all signs pointed to Saren. Where better to hide then right under their nose?

Sidda was unusually quiet as she watched Cerrus work. She knew he had a zillion other things he’d rather be doing right now but she needed him. After the display in the Cargo Bay he figured she was quiet due to embarrassment but the more he observed her the less he figured that was the case. 

Cerrus looked up at her and could see that something was really bothering her. “Need something, Commander?” he asked and took a minute to actually look at her. She was still favoring her left side with the sore ribs and her mouth was bruised from the punch by Rajin and then repeated by Nov.

“Can you do this?” she asked and Cerrus straightened. “I mean, really…can you do this?”

For once Cerrus wasn’t offended by her question. “Yes.” He answered simply. 

“Then can you do me a favor?” she began. “I want this base a smoking crater by the time we’re done. I want a raging inferno that Saren is going to run from and remember that it was us that did it.”

Cerrus looked her up and down and nodded. “One smoking crater…coming right up.”

Sidda quietly walked toward Nov at the Mako. He was helping Garrus set up the Mako for the mission for whenever Cerrus was finished planning the operation. They hadn’t really spoken since Nov made his opinion clear about her attitude and took it upon himself to set her straight. She felt embarrassed by her actions and then crying on his shoulder, she’d never live that one down, and worse it was in front of half her team and Cerrus. 

“Hey.” She greeted and leaned on the Mako watching him work. 

“Hey.” He replied and kept working.

She heaved a sigh and smiled to him. “I’m sorry about what I said earlier.” She stated and he kept working but listened intently to her apologize. “I’ve been upside down…inside out…I don’t know.” She continued and Nov kept working. “I’m sorry I took it out on you.”

He continued to work but was paying attention to her. “You didn’t but someone needed to jar you out of whatever you’re in before you got the rest of us killed.” He stated. “You’re too good of a leader to fall apart like that.”

“I just don’t know what’s what anymore…not since that Prothean download…” she said and he stopped what he was doing and looked up at her. “It wasn’t just the random horrific images…it was…it was the emotions too. It was so attached to what happened to Nihlus I can’t separate the two anymore.” 

He dropped the tools he was using and stood up to his full height. He wasn’t sorry for what he did but he was sorry if he hurt her in anyway. He looked at her bruised lips and felt sorry for his part in making Rajin’s punch worse. “I’m sorry if I hurt you.” He said honestly referring to the injury to her ribs that he hadn’t known she’d had, if he had known he never would have hit her there.

Sidda shook her head not blaming him for anything. “I’ve survived worse, Cal, you know that.” She stated and Nov chuckled. 

He snorted and turned away from her and went back to what he was doing. “If there’s one thing we taught you it was how to take a hit.” He said and Sidda returned to watching him work.

“You need any help?” she asked and ordinarily Nov would have said no. Unless it was another tech specialist he didn’t need the help but since it was Sidda who asked he more than welcomed the help. 

“I’ll teach you to be a techy yet.” He smirked and Sidda giggled, she liked flirting with him it was fun and he always knew how to make her feel better no matter the situation.   
She scoffed. “Yeah, good luck with that.” She stated. “I’m really good at blowing stuff up, it’s much easier.”

“It takes a truly talented person to be good at both.” He prodded and Sidda chuckled. 

“So, tell me about the past year.” She said. “I see the shoulder is healed.”

Nov reached into the exposed panel and pulled out the interface. “Yep, military docs know their trade; I’m partially synthetic now so go easy on me.” He stated. “Taught at the academy for a few months while doing the therapy and more surgeries.” 

“Oh, God help us, you taught at the military academy?” she asked with a laugh. “How many Nov disciples are there roaming the halls of Turian vessels now?”

“Hey, I am a good teacher.” He defended. “Students like me and let’s not forget I’m the best.”

“Yeah, of course the students like you, you’re just like them.” She sniped and he chuckled as he activated the Omni-tool to run the checks on the Mako’s systems. 

“I heard you taught also.” He replied and Sidda cocked her head to him. “General told us. What class?”

“Biotic Combat Tactics and Close Quarters Combat.” She answered and Nov could see her teaching both those classes, hell, he’d take the class. “You seeing anyone?”

Nov pulled a few disks from the Mako’s brain and gestured for her to hand him the tool off the box. “Uhh…sorta…sorta not.” He said. 

“Gee, that’s vague.” She replied. “How about a little more details.”

He let out a chuckle and answered her question. “No one specific, reconnected with Shala a while back…and one of the doctors on Palaven.” He stated and Sidda cackled. 

“You’re a scoundrel.” She snorted and he chuckled. 

Nov admitted he was and didn’t really care, he liked women and everyone knew that but he’d give it up in a heartbeat for her. “I can’t help it if the girls like me.” He stated with a chuckle and Sidda shook her head with a laugh.

“You are incredible.” She stated and Nov chuckled looking over at her, his eyes lingered on her for a few minutes before taking his eyes away from her. She was incredible, she truly was. 

He eyed her and decided to ask a question that he’d wanted to ask since he saw her. “Can I ask you something?” he asked and she grunted a conformation. “Funny thing happened the day you left.” he stated as he surveyed the work he was doing to the Mako. Sidda was silent letting him talk. “I discovered that my knife had legs and somehow managed to find its way back to my quarters.”

Sidda paused and decided to be honest with him. “I didn’t want any issues with Adrien. He was threatened by it so I gave it back.”

That wasn’t exactly what he wanted to hear no matter how true it was. “Uh huh…” Nov muttered and she narrowed her eyes.

“What?” she asked, not sure how to take his tone.

“Nothing.” He replied but she didn’t buy it.

Sidda could see he was lying; she saw something a year ago and guessed that he had a crush on her. Seeing Victus so damn bent out of shape was another indicator. She flirted with him heavily and he did the same but to her it seemed harmless, unless it wasn’t and she spent all this time leading him on. “Why did you give that to me?” she asked and Nov visibly recoiled from her. “If you knew it was going to spark that kind of reaction, why?”

“It was a gift. That’s all.” He stated but she still didn’t believe him. “You gave it back.”

“It’s not that simple, Cal…”

“Just drop it, Sid.” He cut her off and his tone made her narrow her eyes.

“Cal, come on-…”

“Sidda, I don’t want to talk about this.” He said in a sterner tone. He wanted nothing more than to tell her everything but it really wasn’t in him to try to steal another man’s woman. As much as that pained him he’d suffer in silence until something changed.

“Talk about what? Cal, what is wrong.”

His temper flared and he turned on her getting inches from her face. “Just leave it alone!” he roared. He immediately regretted his tone and sheepishly backed off. “I’m sorry.” He said ducking his head away embarrassed by his outburst. “I didn’t mean to yell.”

Roaring outbursts seemed to be contagious on this ship today. “Cal,” she began and he read her mind knowing she was going to push him for more. “please…just-…”

“Sid…stop.” She stated and locked eyes with her. Telling her three simple words would cure most of his problems but he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t adequately explain why but he just couldn’t do it no matter how much he wanted to. There was a moment, a few seconds that felt like an eternity when his feelings actually won and decided to tell her. “Sid, I-…”  
“Commander,” Kaidan called interrupting Nov who let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Capt. Cerrus is ready.”

Nov steeled himself and brushed past them both. “Perfect timing, Lieutenant.” He stated heaving a heavy sigh on the way by. 

**

Assembled in the Cargo Bay was Sidda’s entire drop team, including Cerrus and Nov. Everyone was suited up for combat and toting their favored load outs. Sidda checked Vidinos’ pistol and returned it to its place as the pre-mission brief began. The lengthy one had already taken place in the briefing room; this one was assignments and teams. 

“Okay, so we’re dropping in the Mako, all hands on deck. Now to do this and not be detected by the base or the CDEM we’re going to have to drop in a…let’s just say a wild trajectory.” Sidda stated as Garrus and Ashley looked at each other both feeling their stomachs turning already. 

“Because this base is trying to stay hidden under the nose of the Council there are no obvious signs on the ground. No signs of Comm towers, sensor towers, nothing so our approach should go undetected. Once the teams are inside find the main computer and plug in, we need data. We need to know what this base is and why it’s there. Any information we can find on Saren is gold, the Conduit, Reapers, Geth, plans, anything get it.” Cerrus added and Sidda nodded in agreement. Nov added this to the handful of times these two agreed on anything. 

“We’re dropping into an asteroid field?” Ashley confirmed sounding a little concerned and Sidda nodded. “Who’s idea was that?”

“Mine.” Cerrus answered simply.

“What are you crazy?” Ashley challenged and Cerrus straightened a little eying her. 

Nov looked from them to Sidda and then back down to Ashley. “Yeah, he probably is.” Nov stated and could hear Cerrus grumble about his comment. 

Sidda was done with the interruption. “It’s what we’re doing, Chief. Now, if you have visual contact on Saren you shoot to kill, if you bring him in wounded that’s great…dead is just as good.” Sidda continued and made sure that she made that clear. “Teams are as follows: Wrex, you take Kaidan and Liara. Garrus and Nov will be with me. Cerrus, you take Tali and the Chief.”

“I am not taking orders from a Turian.” Ashley snapped harshly. “It’s bad enough I have to listen to Vakarian and Wrex, I’m not gonn-…”

“Hey, can it!” Sidda barked. “You do as I say or you get left behind. Stow the attitude and follow my orders and his.” She stated firmly pointing to Cerrus. 

Ashley grumbled and nodded reluctantly. “Yes, Ma’am.”

“Alright, get your gear ready and lets go.” She stated and turned away from them. 

Nov looked from Ashley to Cerrus then turned to hover over Sidda’s shoulder tapping her shoulder armor with one finger making her look at him. “What’s her issue?” he asked gesturing to Ashley, she and Garrus bickered over who was going to drive since they agreed that Sidda should never be behind the controls of that tank.

Sidda sighed and straightened her armor. “Her grandfather was the garrison commander at Shanxi during 314.” She stated simply and Nov raised his brow plates.

“Oh this’ll be good.” He laughed and Sidda’s brow furrowed. “What?” he asked. “You know about Cerrus right?”

“Know what? The man’s more likely to shoot me than speak to me.” She replied. She liked this, having Nov around her made her comfortable. It hurt like hell to get to this point but she understood why he did what he did. 

“He told you about his mate.” Nov reminded and she remembered his confession and then him using her as someone to talk to. Both events were downright strange. “What’s the big deal?”

“Tyr’s dad was killed on Shanxi.” Nov stated bluntly and it was Sidda’s turn to raise her eyebrows as she looked over to them getting filing into the Mako. 

“Oh yeah, this is gonna be fun.” She agreed. “No wonder he hates humans.”

Nov chuckled. “Sure you don’t want to stay behind?” he asked and she gave him a sardonic glare. 

“And let you run the show?” she asked with a chuckle.

Nov gave her a mock hurt expression. “Hello, Argo Unit Commander.”

“Get in the Tank.” She droned and Nov chuckled as he moved along. 

**

The Mako had a maximum seating capacity of 10 but with everyone in their full armor and Wrex and everyone armed to the teeth things got a little cramped. 

“Gonna be tight.” She commented as she squeezed into the seat between Nov and Cerrus. Even clad in armor Nov still took the time to check out her ass as she fit it between him and Cerrus. He shifted his gears and found someone else to shine to. 

“Well, Tali can sit on my lap.” Nov flirted with the little Quarian, who was fitting her tiny frame between Wrex and the bulkhead across from the notorious flirt. 

Tali paused before sitting down completely, despite his obvious sexual innuendo. Nov could see some subtle features under the purple mask. Quarian females always peaked his interest; it was the mystery of what was under the helmet. “No. Thank you.”

“Don’t know what you’re missing.” He continued and Sidda shook her head to Nov’s constant flirting, she even heard a snort from Cerrus to her left. 

“We are about to be dropped out of a ship, into a planetary debris field to make a controlled crash onto what’s left of a planet to a secret base and you still have time to proposition a girl.” Sidda stated in sheer awe of his appetite for flirting.

“That’s because he thinks he might not get another chance.” Cerrus chimed in; he knew Nov well and could accurately say he knew his MO.

“Well, if you’re scared, you can sit on my lap, Princess.” Wrex needled, aiming his comment at Nov.

Nov cocked his head; Krogans with a decent sense of humor were few and far between. He cleared his throat and batted his eyes at the battlemaster. “For a Krogan you are quite handsome…with the scars and all but I think I’ll pass…but thank you for the offer.”

Sidda’s row of Cerrus and Kaidan failed to stifle laughs, herself included as Liara looked on not sure how to deal with the sniping going back and forth. 

“Ha!” Wrex laughed. “Now, I’m friends with two Turians who think their funny.”

“I could switch seats if you two want to sit together.” Tali assed and Nov laughed with the rest of them.

“Next mission, Wrex, I promise.” Nov stated in his best feminine tone.

Sidda was surprised to the friendly bantering that was going back and forth, it helped that Nov was easy to get along with but she really didn’t expect to see Turians and Krogans to be getting along. 

“Chief, how are we doing?” Sidda called.

“Pre drop complete. Good to go.” She replied. 

“Weapons are you, Commander.” Garrus added after checking the main gun. 

“Alright, get me Joker.” She ordered and Ashley opened the Mako’s comm. “Joker, it’s Shep, how’s it look?”

“It’s a debris field, Commander, it looks like shit. I think I’ve gotten out of the way from the big ones…should be clear enough for you.”

Everyone else heard the ‘think’ and ‘should’ and wore the same expression she had. “What do you mean ‘should’, Joker?”

“Well, if I’m wrong and you collide with a giant asteroid you won’t be able to yell at me.” Joker replied and Sidda dropped her head with a groan. 

“And who’s idea was this?” she asked rhetorically. 

“His.” Liara answered pointing to Cerrus and Sidda shook her head. 

“Alright, Joker, stand by to drop.” She ordered. “Helmets on.”

The Mako shook as the ramp dropped and the tank rolled forward. “Yep, because that’s gonna help us when we’re splattered all over a rock face.” Ashley muttered donning her helmet as the Mako launched from the cargo bay.


	23. The Mako Drop

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Twenty Three: The Mako Drop

 

The Mako vibrated as it free fell through the Rothla Debris Field. Ashley and Garrus were busy monitoring the controls as the Tank neared its target. It was a nerve racking job hoping that the Mako didn’t get hit by a moonlet and make them a part of this debris field. 

Sidda could hear the hull being pelted by the smaller pieces of planetary debris and hoped that the Mako’s construction was all that it was cracked up to be. At one point it sounded like a hail storm and every time something hit the hull Sidda looked around praying the tank’s skin would hold. 

Helmet on and all Nov could sense Sidda’s nerves. “You gonna be alright, Sid?” Nov asked. 

“Yep. Yeah. Perfect.” She replied and he chuckled, hearing the unease in her voice.

“It’ll be okay.” He said. “I hear they build these things tough.” As he said that a loud bang was heard above them near the area of the main gun. The impact was big enough to make the entire Mako shake. Everyone fell silent and looked up and it was Nov’s turn to worry. “But I could be wrong.”

“Chief?” Sidda questioned. 

“We’re good, Skipper.” She threw back quickly but kept her eyes on the HUD…it wasn’t really going to do much good if something was in the way. Sure, Garrus could shoot at it but the Mako was in a freefall with nearly zero maneuverability. 

“Seriously, only you would suggest a drop like this.” Sidda hissed to Cerrus who rolled his eyes under the helmet. 

Yes, he admitted, this was one of his crazier ideas but in his mind there wasn’t much they could do about right now. “We’ve been through this, Shepard; the Normandy was too big and too big of a risk.”

“It’s still crazy.” She stated. 

“What do you want to do? Get out?” Cerrus fired back. 

“300 meters.” Garrus informed as the flying tank continued to drop like a rock. “200.”

“Firing thrusters.”

Liara groaned. “Oh, I hate this part.” She whined.

Liara wasn’t the only one who was not happy. “Oh...” Tali moaned. “me too.”

The Mako felt like it hit a wall as the thrusters fired. The ride smoothed some as the tank slowed down and Ashley fired the thrusters again. “100.” Garrus continued counting down.  
“Brace!” Ashley announced as Garrus passed the 50 meter mark. 

Everything about this Mako drop was standard with the exception of falling through a planetary debris field…that was new. Only Cerrus would be crazy enough to suggest a drop like this, honestly, the odds of not being blown to bits right now was slimmer than none.

The Mako hit the surface as it was designed to and sped forward seemingly uncontrolled until Ashley could gain control of it. The Mako careened forward for a couple hundred more feet until it came to sharp stop. Ashley took a moment and looked over at Garrus and let out a breath. Everyone in the Mako was jostled as usual but fine. 

“Nice job, Chief.” Sidda praised. “Damage?”

There was a pause as Ashley and Garrus checked the systems of their baby. “Minor damage to the main gun, all systems functional though.” Garrus reported.

“Okay, let’s get this show on the road.” She stated and Ashley spun the Mako around in a tight 180 and sped toward the waypoint.

The approach to the base was as uneventful as it could have been; it was a little eerie actually. If this was a base of Saren’s and he was working with the Geth there had to be Geth around here but they didn’t know if this was an evil Saren base. This could be a Council base but the odds of that were pretty bad. As if on cue after Sidda’s thought that this was easier than expected they stumbled onto what they had found on Therum. Geth sentry’s began appearing the closer they got to the destination. It wasn’t a problem for the crack Mako operation team. Ashley and Garrus may not have been best friends but they were a decent team when the Mako was involved. 

The resistance was moderate but easily taken care of. The worry was that the sentries would alert the base, at least one question was answered: this wasn’t a Council base unless the Council now employed Geth. Ashley didn’t slow down, Garrus cleared as many Geth as he could and she kept speeding toward the base. 

After another minute of driving at top speed the base came into sight along with about the five missile turrets. Ashley and Garrus cursed at the same time, one in English and a Turian curse that the translators didn’t even bother to translate. 

Barrages of rockets were flung at the Mako as Ashley out ran a few of them, jumped another, and took a hit on the left side. Garrus shot back immediately and the powerful gun of the Mako obliterated one of the turrets. “Four more to go.”

Garrus grumbled, he could count and didn’t need her to do it for him. He just kept making as precise a shot as he could with the giant gun attached to the Mako. 

Nov groaned. “Where did this woman learn to drive?” he asked as Ashley spun the Mako around in a tight circle to avoid a missile. 

“Believe me, Shepard’s worse.” Liara stated.

Sidda’s glare under her helmet could have killed someone as she glowered to the Asari. “You all are still alive. One more word about it and I shoot who opened their mouth.” Nov chuckled and she also heard a few other chuckles that garnered more glaring from Sidda.

“Sid, you can still talk with your mouth closed.” Nov put in and Sidda thought of a dozen ways to flay him.

“Cal!” she barked but her tone was lost in the laughter from Wrex and Kaidan. 

After about three more minutes of wild evasive maneuvers and shooting from Garrus they finally eliminated the turrets and Ashley stopped the Mako. Sidda got out of the seat and headed up to the front to get a look at the base. “Okay…” Ashley began. “now what?”

“Get us closer.” She stated and turned to the crew. “Alright, everyone out, let’s go.”

Leaving out the fact that there was a base that they were about to assault Sidda looked up and found the sky the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. What was left of Rothla swirled around the lump that was left after the explosion ripped it apart. Through all the dust and debris you could see a few starts and it was actually quite beautiful. “Wow.” She stated blinking a few times. 

“Sid, come on.” Nov called and she looked from the sky and back to him before walking toward him and the rest. 

Nov looked up at the sky and saw what she was looking at as she passed him and he activated his Omni-tool quickly capturing an image of the skyline then headed toward the entrance that the turrets were protecting. “Alright, which one of you techies wants to get us into this joint?” she asked and the ones labeled ‘techies’ looked at each other. 

“Don’t everyone jump on it at once.” Tali stated and stepped up to the panel. The Quarian was good at what she did, having her along was the best thing Sidda could have next to Nov. The door went from secured to unsecure within a minute of her attacking it.

“Gorgeous Quarians first.” Nov flirted and Kaidan sorted.

“You don’t quit do you?” Kaidan remarked causing a few others to chuckle. Tali blushed but thankfully the helmet masked it. 

“No until I get what I want.” Nov replied and had his eyes on Sidda when he said that but his helmet hid that. Thanks to the helmet he could look at Sidda all he wanted and no one would know. He realized how strange that sounded and knew that if Victus knew he’d probably be killed; Victus would probably kill him for half the things he was thinking anyway. 

“Alright, remember, you see Saren shoot to kill otherwise gather intel and destroy the base if we c-…” Sidda said but an explosion near the Mako ended her sentence. 

“More Geth!” Tali shouted but that was fairly obvious with an army of Armatures, foot soldiers, and a few Colossus’ that seemed to spring up from nowhere heading toward their location. 

“Oh son of a bitch.” She cursed and saw the blue glow of a Colossus plasma cannon.

“Shit! Move!” Nov cursed as they dodged a plasma blast from the Colossus. 

It occurred to Sidda that the Mako was between them and Geth and that was not a good thing. “If they get the Mako we’re screwed, Shepard.” Kaidan stated taking the thought right out of her brain. 

Sidda grumbled. “Garrus, Cal, you’re with me.” She said. “Cerrus, Wrex, you guys go complete the mission we’ll hold the Mako.”

Cerrus didn’t question the shake up and nodded and Wrex didn’t say anything either as they lead their teams inside the base that Tali’d sprung open for them.

Another blast hit dangerously close to the Mako sending bits of rocks and debris flying. The instinctual act of shielding her face with her hands was a bit moot considering the helmet but Sidda did it anyway. The Geth foot soldiers were in a sprint heading toward them as the three of them spied the obvious glow for not one but two Colossuses. They fired and the Mako took one hit as the other was aimed at Sidda, Nov, and Garrus. They scrambled out of the way but the impact was a little closer than any of them would like. 

“Oh…shit…” Sidda stated looking at the number of Geth that were closing in. 

The two Turians shared the same sentiment. “Mako?” Nov questioned.

“Mako.” Garrus agreed as they bolted to the tank to move it before it took too many hits and became totally useless.

Nov got there first and practically catapulted into the driver’s seat. Sidda was next then Garrus and when she saw Nov at the controls she hovered over his shoulder. “Do you even know how to drive this thing?” she asked as he flipped a few controls. 

“How hard can it be?” he answered and a plasma burst hit the Mako. “Sit down.” Nov pressed the controls and the Mako lurched forward sharply. “There’s plenty to shoot at out there Garrus, get on it.”

“Really, I hadn’t noticed.” Garrus snipped in return. 

Wrex was surprisingly more compliant than most Krogans Cerrus noted. He may have had an attitude with him but when it came down to it, the scarred battlemaster was a team player. That was more than he could say of any other Krogan he’d ever met. Kaidan was a good soldier as far as he’d seen and a biotic but a little more palatable than Sidda. Liara was timid but intelligent and her biotics were very impressive but her combat skills were lacking, he actually expected that from a scientist. Tali…he liked Tali. The little Quarian actually made him laugh with her shyness and awkward behavior. He’d dealt with Quarians before and found them easier to deal with than most other species in the galaxy. As for Ashley, he still didn’t know what to make of her but at least he could say he firmly knew where he stood with her. She didn’t like him, that much was obvious. 

Cerrus took point as the two teams made their way into the base. So far it was quiet and he found that strange. They reached a T junction and it too was clear, that made all of them a little uncomfortable. Cerrus sighed and looked to Wrex. “Take your team that way. We’ll go this way.” He ordered and Wrex grunted a response. 

Cerrus took point as his team moved through the base. To Ashley it looked like the usual hidden bases on the various planets they went to. It wasn’t that big and looked like it was more of a mobile base than and permanent one. They reached a console and Tali stepped forward to check and see if it was an access point to the main computer. They paused to let her decide if it was significant but they weren’t still for a minute when Cerrus caught movement and spied a Geth trooper. Cerrus leapt forward and snatched up Tali turning her away from the gunfire. A few shots hit his back but he put a lot of time and effort into his heavy armor so none of the gunfire hurt him at all. 

“Chief!” he barked and Ashley was more than happy to save the Turian’s ass. Cerrus held the little Quarian tight in his arms; the protector in him made sure that Tali stayed safe. Ashley stopped firing but saw more on the way. “More coming, Cerrus, get your ass up.”

Cerrus ignored Ashley’s tone and stood looking down at Tali. “You okay?” he asked and Tali nodded. 

“Yeah…” he stated. “yeah, I’m okay, thank you.”

Ashley drew down on more Geth as Cerrus and Tali moved to cover positions and began shooting their way through. “Come on you two, I can do this all by myself but I’d prefer not to.”

“Chief, shut up.” Cerrus snapped and joined in the shooting match. 

**

Wrex could hear the firefight coming from somewhere else in the base, the other team must have run into trouble but so far his team hadn’t. Outside he could hear the distant thunder from the Mako’s main gun so obviously Sidda, Nov, and Garrus were hosting a hell of a party. They were going to run into someone eventually, that much he knew, that was the rule of the galaxy. 

Wrex took the lead and followed the hallway until it dead ended at a door that read ‘MEDICAL’. The fact that a base that so far had nothing but Geth on it needed a room marked ‘medical’ was definitely a brain builder. In fighting Saren’s goons so far he seemed to have an endless supply of mercs and assassins on staff so it was possible the medical bay was for them. 

Kaidan bypassed the door and it opened with ease as both Wrex and Liara were primed for anything that came through the door. It was plainly obvious that this wasn’t a garden variety medical bay as soon as the door opened. It was empty too and that was a little disconcerting. 

There were exam tables and the usual stuff but the unusual stuff were the enormous upright tanks that lined either side. “What are all these tanks for?” Kaidan asked as Liara stopped to examine one of the consoles. 

“Ummm…I’m not sure…” Liara stated. “They look like gestation tanks.”

“What do they need with gestation tanks?” Kaidan asked and Wrex grumbled. He really didn’t care about that answer; he was there to complete the mission. 

Liara moved over to what was obviously the medical computer and found it encrypted. “Lieutenant.” She called to Kaidan. “I think we need to see what’s on here. I could be very important.”

Kaidan agreed and jogged over to quickly start working. Wrex kept walking and found another door. “Another door here.” Wrex stated and Liara actually volunteered to help him clear it. Kaidan’s Omni-tool lit up as it began to hack the computer’s security. Wrex opened the door and Liara immediately flattened against the wall seeing a Krogan merc on the other side with several Geth. 

“Geth!” she warned quickly. “And a Krogan.”

Nov and the Mako did their best to occupy the Geth contingent. Garrus counted about 100 Geth of varying models running about shooting at them. Flattening the smaller ones under the six wheeled tank made things a bit easier but it was much harder to take out the Colossus and the smaller, but just as powerful, Armatures. 

Despite Nov’s evasive maneuvers the Mako had already been hit several times. “Hey, Vakarian, you want to actually hit something with that gun? Maybe if we get rid of some bad guys we might take less hits.” Nov sniped as he pulled the Mako into a tight 180 that all three of their stomachs felt. 

“If you’d keep it steady for longer than five seconds I might be able to hit something.” He replied as he finally got a clear shot of the Colossus that was shooting at them.

“I hold still for the ‘King of the snipers’ to get the perfect shot we’re going to be a crater.” Nov fired back and Garrus finally was able to line up the shot on the Colossus that was pestering them. As he fired the Colossus fired also and the blast impacted the Mako’s right front side. That side’s armor had taken a several hits and was basically gone so when the blast hit several systems inside exploded and half the Mako went dark. 

“Fuck.” Nov cursed. “Primary systems took a hit, switching to back up.” He announced and sped the Mako to a whatever cover he could find. “Sid!”

Sidda pressed a few buttons on the repair console and quickly deduced that this was far beyond her. “Cal, I can’t fix this.”

The Mako skidded to a stop behind a stand of rocks, not very big but it was enough to make the slow moving Colossuses and Armatures have to reposition. 

“Fine, you drive, I’ll do it.” He said and they two started to switch places. 

“No. Do not let her drive this thing.” Garrus stated sharply. “I’ll fix it.”

“Oh, Garrus, not now.” Sidda spit back.

“That bad of driver, huh, doesn’t even want you to drive it in a pinch.” Nov commented as he reset some control while Garrus shifted over to the Engineering console and Sidda took over the gunner seat. 

“Cal, shut up.” She snipped and the Turian chuckled.

“Last time she drove this thing she nearly broke the front axle.” Garrus stated and Nov laughed. 

“On a Mako, that’s hard to do…even in the Turian military these things are legendary.” He replied and Sidda shook her head grumbling while she kept an eye out for the bad guys. “Do you two comedians mind?”

About a minute passed as the Mako was still stationary. Garrus was working fast on bypassing the systems that got fried by the plasma blast but now even Nov was getting a little nervous. Sidda kept her eyes on the targeting screen panning the main gun around making sure they stayed clear. 

“How’s it looking, Sid?” Nov asked and she snorted.

“Looks like a lot of Geth, Garrus are we going to get this thing moving sometime soon?” she asked and Garrus shrugged off the nagging, he could work under pressure. 

Cerrus and his team continued running into resistance, Geth were pouring out of every single nook and cranny. The volume of Geth told Cerrus that something worth protecting was back here. Ashley and Cerrus had the same work ethic when it came to a firefight; they pushed forward as soon as they found the ground. Finally the last Geth fell and they found what they were protecting. It was a midsized room that had servers lining the wall. 

“Jackpot.” Ashley stated and Cerrus agreed but not out loud. 

“Check the room.” He ordered and Ashley glowered over to him but the Chief did as asked. 

Tali left Cerrus’ side and bounded over to the center console, it was obviously a control center of some kind and Tali looked over the console as Cerrus and Ashley finished clearing the room they just shot their way into. “Okay, this is it. This is it. This is what we need.” Tali stated and started working on it. “It’s encrypted…and it’s going to take some time.”

The mission was collecting data so if Tali deemed this worthy then they had to stay as long as needed to capture it. “How long?” he asked looking over her shoulder. 

“Umm…” she replied and Cerrus took that as an open ended question. 

“Rooms clear, front and rear door.” Ashley announced and Cerrus heard her but was busy with Tali’s lack of answer. 

He nodded sharply to her lack of answer. “Okay…” he stated and headed toward Ashley. “Chief, we hold here. Cover the front.”

“Are you kidding me? We’re gonna get swarmed.” Ashley stated she was right they were going to attract a million Geth and Mercs. 

“The mission in the information, Chief, so do it. Cover the damn door.” Cerrus scolded and moved on past the human who was pissing him off. “Wrex, status?”

“We’re in the middle of something right now.” The Krogan responded. 

Cerrus could hear the gunfire over the comm and somewhere off in the distance. He sighed hiding the grumble and knew what they needed to do. He checked his Crossfire and camped at the rear door. “Tali, fast is better.” He said with a sigh.

**

Wrex and Liara apparently happened into either a barracks or a security station or something that required a bunch of people. There were a few Geth, about a dozen mercs, and one Krogan the same size as Wrex. Kaidan left his hack to its work and moved up to help Wrex and Liara. Liara threw a grenade into the room and Wrex followed suit rather impressed with the Asari’s new found military skills. 

“No way we’re gonna breach this.” Kaidan stated as he traded places with Liara. “They’re dug in.”

Wrex agreed with a grunt and Kaidan thought a moment before pulling the pack of explosives that Cerrus had given him. To fulfill his promise to Sidda Cerrus brought along an explosive from Ruvvak. It looked like six skinny grenades stuck together that could either be used as one big bomb or several smaller ones that packed just as big a punch. Ruvvak called it a High Energy Fusion explosive and it meant business. 

“We’ll see how they like this.” Kaidan stated and Wrex chuckled.

“I like it.” He stated as Kaidan pulled one of the sections and armed it before tossing it into the room like he was throwing a Frisbee. The explosion that went off was bigger than Kaidan thought it would be and it shook the base itself. 

All the noise around them disappeared and the area they were in fell eerily quiet. Kaidan raised his eyebrows to the explosion and looked to Wrex and then to Liara. “Wow.” Liara stated.

“I’ll give it to the Turian…he doesn’t skimp on the explosives.” Wrex stated and Kaidan agreed as Wrex rounded the corner to see the damage. Nothing was left in the room, things were burning and melted, but best of all there were no enemies around. 

“Remind me to thank Capt. Cerrus.” Kaidan stated as they surveyed the room. 

**

The targeted Colossus exploded from a particularly great direct hit from the Mako’s main gun. Garrus was still in the process of repairing the systems in the Mako but he’d fixed it well enough to get moving again. 

“Nice shot, Sid, two big ones left.” Nov stated as the Mako was hit again by a rocket from one of the destroyers. 

“Direct hit to the center axle.” Garrus reported. “We lost that wheel.”

“Its fine, we got five more.” Nov said and the Mako was hit again by the same destroyer only this time to the main gun causing some systems to explode next to her head. “Come on, Sid, will you shoot that bastard.” 

“There’s 20 other bad guys out there, Cal, I can’t hit all of them at once.” She snapped back and Nov conceded to her. 

“Alright, alright, alright, two Colossi I’m going right down the middle take your pick.” Nov stated but Sidda was trying to track the Destroyer that kept pestering her. 

“No, Cal, the Destroyer we need to get him or he’s gonna pick us apart.” She stated and Nov ignored it. 

“Cal.” She warned and he yanked the Mako into a hard 90 degree right turn. 

“You ready?” he asked and she cursed. 

“No.” she answered.

“Yes.” He replied.

“No.” she barked back panning around hunting for the rocket toting Destroyer that was killing them with bug bites. 

“Will you just shoot the damn Colossus, woman.” He snapped and she ground her teeth. 

“I’m gonna shoot you if you say that again, Callus.” She hissed and lined up on the Colossus on the right. 

**

Tali was still working on hacking the main computer but it was harder than she thought. Cerrus and Ashley were covering the two doors and just as Ashley predicted they were being swarmed by Geth. The wave that was coming at Cerrus ended and he closed the rear entrance and stuck a proximity grenade to the door to cover it and scrambled back to help Ashley. When he turned he saw Ashley get flattened by a Geth Trooper that rushed her. He fired instantly, catching it right through the light blowing its head right off its shoulder. “Tali, hurry up.”

Ashley scooted backward quickly and felt a hand grab the back of her armor and pull her to her feet. Under the helmet the Geth managed to bloody her nose and mouth but she shook it off. “Get up, Chief,” she heard him say and shot the Turian a look as he threw a grenade into the hall giving them a moment to collect. 

“Get off me.” She snarled and Cerrus was more than happy to. She was bitchy but determined. 

“Almost there.” Tali stated. 

Cerrus didn’t bother asking Ashley if she was okay, he figured that would piss her off further. “Tali, we don’t have all day.”

Tali nodded to that. “I know, I know. I’m working on it.” She stated and tapped a few buttons as Cerrus and Ashley guarded the door. In the distance they heard a good size explosion that made Cerrus look down at Ashley. 

“That was one of mine.” He stated and Ashley agreed, no grenade was that big. “Wrex, status?”

“We’re clear here.” He replied and there was paused. “Had to use one of those big explosives.”

“Captain, I got it. We have what we need.” Tali announced. 

Cerrus heard and ignored the fact that they had to use one of the explosives. “Grab everything you can, Tali.” He stated and then returned his attention back to Wrex on the comm. “Wrex, we’re done…let’s go.” 

Tali uploaded all the data she could onto the OSDs as Cerrus moved around the room. “Okay, I’m done.” Tali stated and headed toward Ashley to leave but Cerrus was still busy with something else.

“What are you doing?” Ashley asked as Cerrus took explosives out of the pack he had strapped to his right thigh.

“I promised Shepard a smoking crater and I aim to deliver.” He stated and he planted the explosive on as many surfaces as he could find. The fusion explosives were small but more than powerful enough to bring down this entire facility. “Lt. Alenko, did you plant the explosives?” he asked over the comm.

“All set and ready, Captain.” He replied and Cerrus was satisfied with that. 

“Let’s go, let’s go.” He stated and the two teams met up as they made their way back to the surface. “Commander, we’re coming out, mission complete, no sign of Saren.”

Sidda heard the extraction call and Nov yanked the Mako into a hard left, with all the bickering that was going on inside the tank they had done really well eliminating the endless sea of mechs that had arrived. But the team successfully took down at least four Colossus mechs and as many Armatures, the Mako also flattened a considerable number of foot soldiers including the Destroyer that’d been hell bent on destroying them with a damn rocket launcher. 

“Looks like a junk yard out here.” Ashley stated being the first to climb in followed by Liara, Wrex, Tali, Kaidan, and finally Cerrus. “You guys have fun?”

“Oh yeah, yep, it was a picnic.” She stated as the soldier removed her helmet and saw the blood all over Ashley’s face. “Are you alright?”

Ashley nodded as Kaidan tended to her wounds. Cerrus eyed Ashley before looking to Sidda, the solider took a solid pop that was hard enough to reach her under her armor and she got up and kept on going. 

“Nov, 500 meters.” Cerrus called and the Mako sped forward and Sidda looked to Cerrus with a curious expression hidden under her helmet but he could see it no matter what. “Commander.” He said tossing her the detonator. Sidda caught it and looked down at it, Cerrus came through, as in he really came through, he collected the data and he rigged the place to explode. “As promised.”

Nov piloted the Mako out to beyond the 500 meter mark that Cerrus had told him. “That’s 500.” He announced and tapped the Mako’s comm. “Normandy, ready for pick up.” 

Sidda looked from Cerrus to the detonator and felt a wave of satisfaction as she pressed the button. Saren obviously wasn’t there but it still felt like a victory to turn one of his bases into a smoking ruin. She looked to Cerrus with a slight nod that he returned in kind. Once again Cerrus came through, he may not have liked her but she could definitely count on him. 

**

The Normandy materialized from nowhere as its jump was complete. The stealth system was worth its weight in gold for that mission as there was no indication at all that CDEM knew they were there…that is until the explosion on the giant moonlet’s surface, but even then the ship got away without being seen. Joker piloted the hybrid vessel toward its larger counterpart the Lante, who was holding position at designated coordinates. 

The Briefing Room was the site of the post mission debriefing. Sidda needed to talk to the Council but she didn’t want to do that just yet. According to Kaidan, the Medical computer had been wiped but the main computer hadn’t.

“Did you guys find anything else?” Sidda asked referring to the information. 

“Nothing in Medical, I believe the computers were set to be deleted once they were tampered with.” Liara stated.

“Why wipe the Medical computer and leave the main computer alone?” Sidda asked and Liara shrugged flustered that she didn’t have an answer. “Have you gone through the data from the main computer yet?” Sidda asked shifting her attention to Tali. 

“No, not yet.” Tali replied and Sidda figured that would be her answer. They only just got the information and hadn’t had a chance to go through it. 

“Okay, you and Liara start pouring thorough it. Let me know if you find anything interesting.” She stated and Joker interrupted the debriefing.

“Commander, the Council’s on the line again.” He stated and Sidda sighed. 

“Tell them I’ll call them later.” She replied and Joker lingered on the comm.

“Commander, they are really persistent and sound really pissed.” He added and Sidda snorted shaking her head. 

“Tell them I will call them back.” She said again and smiled while shaking her head. The Council was going to rip her a new one for this. 

“I do not envy you right now, Sid.” Nov stated and she scoffed. 

“Gonna be the shortest stint a Spectre’s ever done.” She chuckled knowing that violating the CDEM, entering the Rothla Field and not telling the Council was about as bad as she could do, but she honestly couldn’t wait to tell them that their star Spectre had a secret base hidden right under their nose. “Anything else?” she asked and they shook their heads. 

“Not yet, but we’ll let you know when we find something.” Kaidan stated.

She heaved a sigh and heard the tell-tale chirp from the intercom. “Hey, Commander…they’re back.”

Sidda grumbled and waved for them to leave. “Go on guys, you probably don’t want to be here to listen to this.” She stated. “Joker, go ahead and put them through.”

**

As expected, the Council was not happy but they really couldn’t agree on what they were unhappy about. Sidda was taking this one like a champ; she did fly under the Council and violate a restricted area. Valern, Tevos, and Sparatus were all now squabbling but there was one thing they did agree on: she was in trouble. 

“Look, I understand that you’re pissed but-…” she began trying to get the heat off her. 

“You violated restricted space, went around the quarantine, and blew up a potentially valuable source of intelligence.” Sparatus barked.

“All the intel was saved and you will be given a copy but I assure you we could not take the risk.” She stated. “If Saren was able to get in under the quarantine then the CDEM garrison at Rothla may be compromised.”

“Commander, we will check into the Rothla garrison, and you are to notify us immediately if you uncover any information from the data you collected.” Tevos stated but Sparatus was not satisfied. 

“You need to remember that you work for the Council, Commander, being a Spectre does not give you the license to do whatever you want, do you understand me?” he scolded and Sidda kept her mouth shut and nodded.

“I would like to know how you came about this information, Commander.” Valern stated and Sidda shrugged, she wasn’t going to sell out Victus to the Council. “Acquired it from a mercenary.”

“Is that so, Commander?” Valern asked sensing that she was hiding something.

“If you’ll excuse me, Councilors, I have a lot of data to sort through.” She stated and tapped the comm to disconnect and let out a heavy sigh once they were gone. 

Victus entered the briefing room and saw Sidda leaning on the console and heard her sigh heavily. “I guess it went well?” he asked announcing himself as he walked up behind her.

“Yeah. It went well…one or two hiccups but Cerrus is a hell of a strategist.” She replied with a smile and Victus noticed the change in her attitude. She seemed less angry, perhaps finally being able to strike back at Saren was enough to jog her out of the funk she was in. 

“So why don’t you look thrilled?” he asked looking down at the short human before him.

“Because the Council is really, really pissed at me, I got lucky and I mean extremely lucky that that wasn’t a Council funded base.” She stated and sighed again. “I could see Councilor Sparatus fuming from here. And they’re all in a tizzy because they think Saren’s got some of the CDEM…”

“Busy day for you.” He stated with a chuckle making her laugh out loud. He had to admit it was better to see her like this than all pissed off and violent like she was before. 

“I guess so.” She chuckled. “Desala’s information was good, Adrien, thank you.” Sidda stated and Victus studied her. “That woman is dangerous.”

Victus snorted agreeing with that, when he recruited a spy into his ranks he never imagined what a major resource she would be. “That is very true.” He said and turned her back on the console she had been leaning on and pulled him in front of her. 

“So you want to hang out for a while?” she asked teasing him.

“Technically I’m not supposed to be here and I gotta get back to my duties before Command notices but I’m not gonna let you go without offering some help. If you want I can let you have one of my people. At least then I know someone I trust is watching your back.” Victus stated standing close to her.

“You’re worried about me?” she played and Victus didn’t see too much humor right now. 

“Sidda, Saren’s dangerous…extremely dangerous.” He stated. “I don’t like you going after him.”

She smiled sweetly, the concern was flattering. She stroked his left mandible with her hand. “I’ll be okay.”

She’d fair better than most, he gave her that. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.” He replied. “I still want you to take one of my guys.”

Sidda nodded. “Okay.” She replied. “You wanna come?” she asked, he was her first choice. Although having him onboard would distract her a bit. 

Victus snorted as she took her hand away from his face. “As fun as tracking a traitor down sounds, I think Palaven Command would notice I was gone.” He stated. “Shall I inform Nov that he’ll be spending some time on the Normandy?” 

Sidda shook her head. “No. Not him.” She stated making Victus turn and look at her confused…surprised really. He was certain Nov would be her choice. 

“So let me get this straight: Victus gives you the run of the ship to pick whoever you want to watch your back on this mission and you pick Cerrus?” Nov stated the surprise, shock, and confusion in his voice matched his facial expression. “I think that Beacon broke your brain on the way through.”

Sidda eyed him with a sardonic smirk. “I don’t need another techy, Cal, I need a tank that can plan anything.” She said. “I have a feeling he’s not happy.”

Nov scoffed. “Ummm…remember Oriso, when you-…” he began but cut his own sentence short by the glare he received from her. “Yeah, he’s angrier than that. The whole ship heard his explosion when Victus gave him his orders.”

“Terrific.” She replied and started to fidget a little as she fiddled with her locker. This job was hard enough without having to war with Cerrus along the way. 

“Yeah, I think it came down to take the assignment or Brig time.” Nov stated and Sidda could see the journey with Cerrus was not going to be fun. “I’ll pretend not to be offended that you didn’t invite me.” He stated and she chuckled a little. 

“It’s not a vacation resort, Cal, I’m tracking a traitor.” She laughed and he laughed as well.

“Sounds like a vacation to me.” He stated as she turned away from him and he could not stop looking at her, she wore the same blue casual uniform she always wore and her hair was the same, she was the same and that’s what made her perfect. She didn’t change, she was beautiful. “Anywhere with you is a vacation.” He added and turned away sharply kicking himself for blurting that out. “Spirits, get it together, man.” He cursed to himself. He had a moment of weakness earlier and thanked his lucky stars he was interrupted by Kaidan. He glanced over seeing her cheeks brighten a little and grumbled to himself before getting it together. “I’m gonna go, let you get back to tracking your nemesis.”

Sidda narrowed her eyes to him, something was up with him and he seemed like he wanted to say something to her. “Hey, Cal,” she called as he turned to move away from her thinking about finding a wall to bang his head against. He turned and gave her his full attention. “before the drop…there was something you were going to say, what was it?”  
Nov felt his stomach drop. “Uhh…nothing.” He stated and it killed him to say that. “It’s not important.”

Sidda saw his lie and narrowed her eyes as the Turian turned and walked away from her, there was something going on but he wasn’t telling her and she had an inkling about what it was. So far getting him to talk about it wasn’t getting them anywhere and pushing him didn’t work either. She let him go not really sure how to proceed after this.

It’d been about five minutes since Nov left and Sidda was sifting through her locker. “Shepard!” Cerrus’ voice barked causing her to stop what she was doing and sigh. 

“Oh, here we go.” She stated and turned to face him. “Cerrus.” She acknowledged as he crossed the rec room with a few long and pissed off strides. 

“I have you to thank for this?” he hissed and stood up close to her being as intimidating as possible. 

She sighed and looked up at him. “Cerrus, look, I’m sorry I know I shanghaied you-…”

Cerrus didn’t have the time or the will to listen to her human slag that he didn’t understand. “I don’t know that that means.” He growled impatiently.

“That’s not the point, Cerrus, shut up.” She snapped cutting him off sharply and his temper started to bubble up. He had a degree of control but when it came to her his control slipped. She knew all the buttons to push to piss him off and most of the time she didn’t even try. “I need your help. That’s it. I need your help. I know that this is the last place you want to be and I’m the last person you want to spend all this time with but I need your help.” She explained and Cerrus looked down at her. “Saren is smart and he’s dangerous but you know what…you’re smarter and even more dangerous.” Cerrus could honestly say he never expected to hear words like this coming from her. He knew that she respected him to a point but to pass up her bosom buddy, Nov, and ask him said a lot. “Watching Nihlus…ummm…I need you.”

Cerrus took a step back from her and looked away quickly. “Okay.” He stated simply and picked the bag up that he had dropped when he confronted her. He didn’t wait for anything else to be said and made his way down to the cargo bay to stow his gear as he did before. He didn’t want to be there but he understood the circumstances. Sidda wanted to avenge a death, something he’d wanted to do for years but had nowhere to aim that anger. She watched him collect his gear and walk away a little confused about how easily he relented but something told her that this endeavor with him was only getting started. He was going to have to deal with everyone onboard including Wrex and Ashley.


	24. Hades' Dog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this one might need a 'previously on' heading. It's not an exact tie in to Proverbial Rabbit Hole and Hellhound but it is a relevant long term story arc.

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Twenty Four: Hades’ Dog

 

Saren paced seemingly aimless but he was deep in thought, searching for the Conduit was a slow process when all the information was dead and buried 50,000 years over. 

“The station on Rothla has been destroyed.” Benezia stated and Saren cocked his head back to her. “The Normandy crew, the same crew from Eden Prime, Cdr. Shepard.”

Saren turned slowly to his Asari lieutenant. “How did they find it?” he demanded his tone a low growl that could make any ones skin crawl. 

Benezia showed no emotion and stood proud with her hands clasped behind her back. “I don’t know.” She stated. “We lost the quarantine Garrison as well; the Council pulled them after the base was destroyed.”

Saren growled and stalked toward her. “Make contact with the Shadow Broker again and find out how Shepard found about Rothla and kill whoever passed on the information.”  
Benezia nodded to the order but didn’t leave. “Have we found the creature?”

“The Thorian? Yes, Feros.” Benezia replied. 

Saren thought more, he didn’t count on Sidda dogging him the whole time, and she could very well undermine him and his plans. Somehow she had a knack for chasing him. After the Council stripped him of his credentials all his files and Nihlus’ went to her so she knew everything that he did. Things he covered up and tried to hide she knew. “Go to Noveria. I’ll find the creature.”

**

Sidda could hear an argument taking place in the Cargo Bay as the slowest elevator in existence neared its destination. Cerrus and his team had returned with the Mako a few minutes ago and the Normandy shook as it broke the atmosphere of the inhospitable rock Sidda decided to investigate. 

“You are the biggest asshole in the galaxy!” Ashley barked at Cerrus as he fought with his armor to get his helmet off. 

He yanked the helmet off and spun on Ashley with a growl. “And you are the worse soldier that I’ve met, Chief!” he snapped back stepping close to her holding his helmet in one hand and gripping it tight. 

“You know…I’ve met some Turians in my time but none of them as big a jackass as you are.” Ashley fired back. 

Sidda quietly waited observing the exchange between them and Liara was silent as she passed the two arguing soldiers. “What the hell is going on?” Sidda asked quietly to Liara. 

“They’ve been going at it for the past 15 minutes…I really don’t think they like each other.” She replied and Sidda snorted. 

“That’s because they’re exactly alike.” She stated and stepped toward them, they were so heated into their argument they were oblivious to those around them. 

You could never call Cerrus patient, but so far the grouchy Turian had done an admirable job at working with those he hated; human, Krogan, Sidda but he was growing very tired of Ashley. Wrex could at least be a team player when it came down to it, he wasn’t the friendliest guy but Cerrus wasn’t there to make friends so he didn’t care. Ashley, however, resisted him every step of the way for everything, literally everything. If Cerrus told her that water was wet she’d argue with him. 

Cerrus grabbed the front of Ashley’s white and pink Phoenix armor and jerked her sharply toward him. “While we’re out there you will damn well follow my orders or I will leave you out there.” He growled allowing his temper to show through but also did a fine job of keeping it in check. 

Ashley shoved him off her with an equally sharp movement staring him down. “I do not take orders from you!” she barked and Sidda looked from one to the other. “I’ll never take orders from a fucking Turian.”

Sidda was impressed with Cerrus’ restraint, when she first met him all she had to do was look at him wrong and she got her ass handed to her. The Taetrus native had come a long way in regards to his tolerance for Humans but Sidda suspected that his new found patience had a bitter end. 

Cerrus snatched the front of her armor again and held on with a harder grip. “You will or I will kill you where you stand.” He growled louder but that only served to illicit another outburst from Ashley. She struggled against him but his grip was solid. 

“Why wait?” she taunted but he didn’t bite and also didn’t let her go. “Let me go or-…” she began and he saw her hand go toward the pistol she carried. 

Cerrus closed the short gap between them staring down at her. “Or what?!” he barked. “Go ahead and draw it, Chief.” There was a pause as he tested her but she didn’t move. “Now!” Ashley hesitated and kept her eyes locked in a fierce glare with the huge Turian standing before her. “If you’re gonna threaten me, Chief, then you better fucking follow through. Draw the weapon and give it your best shot or follow my orders when I give them.”

“Fuck you.” She spat and Cerrus had to admit her grit was appealing, she had fire and spirit and had succeeded in pissing him off. “I’m an Alliance solider; I don’t take orders from you so get your damn hands off me.”

Sidda watched this progress. “That’s enough.” She intervened and stepped toward them but Cerrus didn’t release her. “I said that’s enough. Cerrus let her go.”

It was hard to decide which the instigator was: Cerrus or Ashley they both appeared to want to knock the crap out of the other. “Get the fuck off me.” Ashley hissed as Cerrus obeyed Sidda’s order to release her. 

“That’s enough, Chief.” Sidda snapped. “What the hell is wrong with you two? I send you on a mission and you come back like this?”

“Commander,” Joker voice piped through the comm. “you might want to come to the bridge. Message coming in from the Citadel and it’s not the Council.”

Sidda grumbled and looked from Cerrus to Ashley and then focused on Cerrus. “No blood.” She warned pointing a finger at him then shifted to Ashley. “No fighting.” She stated and walked away. She’d resolve their issues later but now she needed to figure out who was calling her. 

**

She strode into the Comm room and sighed wondering what great problem was about to surface. Maybe the universe was collapsing in on itself so she could forego hunting Saren’s ass from one corner of the Traverse to the other. “Go ahead, Joker.” 

“Commander,” an Alliance man appeared and Sidda straightened seeing the Admiral rank. “my name is Adm. Kahoku. I have a problem and Capt. Anderson told me that you would see to it.”

Sidda took a deep breath and clasped her hands behind her back. “What can I do for you, Admiral?” she asked more than happy to help.

“I’ve lost contact with a Marine division in the Traverse. You are the closest Alliance vessel so I ask you to investigate.” He stated and Sidda nodded. 

“Of course, Admiral, do you know where they were?” Sidda asked. 

“Edolus in the Sparta System, Commander.” He replied and Sidda tapped a few keys on the console as they spoke. 

Sidda really didn’t have time to go chasing after a missing squad but she was Alliance so she’d do all she could to help and Saren could wait. “We’re near the system.” She stated with a nod. “We’ll go there next and check it out.”

Kahoku gave her a sharp nod. “Your reputation precedes you, Commander, thank you.”

“My pleasure, Admiral, I’ll find your men.” She replied and the Kahoku ended the conversation. Sidda knew Kahoku by reputation only; he fought during the Blitz and the First Contact War, she remembered her father speaking of him when she was growing up but thus far had never met him. 

Before she set out to find some wayward Marines she needed to figure out just what the hell happened between Ashley and Cerrus besides the fact they were both as racist as could be against the other. She huffed and told Joker to plot a course for the Sparta System but hold off on going until she sorted out what happened between the Bickering Bickersons. She was heading to the Cargo Bay but found one of her targets in on the Crew Deck fiddling with the empty locker next to hers. 

Sidda narrowed her eyes as Cerrus shoved his belongings into the locker. “Thought your locker was downstairs.” She stated approaching him and Cerrus grumbled. 

“It was.” He responded and his tone told her that he was still pissed off. “Now it’s here.”

“Alright, what happened?” she asked and he straightened his tunic in the mirror inside the locker door. Sidda leaned on her locker and looked the big Turian up and down catching the Taetrus sigil pin he always wore on his collar. 

“She doesn’t listen.” Cerrus stated. “I gave her an order, she disobeyed it…nearly got the Asa-…Liara killed.”

“Of course she doesn’t listen to you…she’s you.” Sidda stated and Cerrus glowed down at her sharply. 

“Do not compare me to her.” He growled. 

Sidda lifted an eyebrow. “Why not? You two are exactly alike. You hate Humans as much as she hates Turians.” 

Cerrus closed the locker hard and grumbled looking down at her. “Exactly what do you want me to do? You drug me here; gave me an Asari with no combat skills and a Human who doesn’t listen.”

“Train them.” Sidda replied and Cerrus blinked. 

He stuttered a few times a little surprised by her words. “Liara I can train.” He stated. “How do you expect me to train the Chief? At gunpoint?”

By this point Sidda didn’t care. “If need be.” She replied and Cerrus blinked again. “Train her like you did me.”

Cerrus was now more confused than ever. He stepped away from her and paced back and forth once or twice and then stopped looking at her, the confusion apparent on his face. “Who the hell are you?” he asked. A year ago she would never had spoken to him like this…my, what a year and a forced mission had done to change the tune.

She chuckled to his response and unfolded her arms to stand up straight to him. “Someone who wants to complete a mission.” She stated. “And I can’t do that if I’m worried about you two shooting each other.”

Cerrus grumbled. “Fine.” He snipped. “I’m willing to work if she is…to expedite this mission so I can get the hell off this ship.”

Sidda nodded to him. “You’re more compliant then I remember.”

Cerrus scoffed. “So are you.” He replied. “Makes for a calm ship.”

It was Sidda’s turn to scoff as she walked away. “Until we go at it and the ship blows up.” She stated and heard Cerrus chuckle to that. 

“I’m preoccupied with someone else at the moment.” He muttered and she shook her head with a smile. 

**

Ashley was still fuming from her fight with Cerrus, she tended to her gear but honestly she took her anger out on it. She stored her gear in her locker with sharp movements grumbling as she did so. Garrus eyed her as he listened to the pissed off Human turn a menial task into a grumble fest. 

Sidda moved over to her and leaned on the locker next to hers. “You want to tell me what that was all about, Chief?”

“It’s about you, Commander.” She hissed and Sidda didn’t move from her positon to the obvious insubordinate tone. “You go and serve on a Turian ship for a year and you come back a lover of them all. You’ve even taken one to your bed. Now you expect me to take orders form one? With all due respect but hell no, Skipper.”

“Are you finished, Chief?” she asked not fazed by her words. She’d heard worse and knew that Ashley, like Cerrus, had a reason to hate the other. “What you can’t seem to get through your thick head is that you will do as I tell you. If I tell you to lick Cerrus’ boots you’re gonna do that. On the flipside if I tell him to kiss your ass he’s gonna do that.” She stated and stood up straight as Ashley opened her mouth to protest like Sidda expected. The hand that went from Sidda’s side silenced the Chief. “Because if I see another display like that again from either one of you I’ll show both of you what a real ass kicking feels like.” Ashley was forced to stand up straight as Sidda got closer to her on purpose. “Do I make myself abundantly clear, Gunnery Chief?”

Ashley was smart enough to stow to attitude right now, she’d been in the military long enough to know when to shut up. “Yes, Ma’am.”

“Commander, we’re approaching the system.” Joker stated over the comm and Sidda grumbled. She had said her peace and was apparently a very popular person. She turned away from Ashley and caught Garrus eyeing the exchange as she headed off to take care of the next crisis. 

**

The Normandy entered the Sparta System and made its way to Edolus. Sidda stood behind Joker wondering they would find by scanning the planet. “You getting anything, Joker?” she asked and Joker took a minute before answering. 

“Automated distress call, Commander.” He replied. “Alliance…getting a fix on it now.”

Sidda nodded and Joker knew what was next. “Prep for a Mako drop.” She stated and turned away heading down to gather her team. Now it was time for her to figure out who she was going to take along. With Cerrus and Ashley squabbling she didn’t want to take them together without them working out their differences. She really didn’t want to be left out in the wind when they opened fire on each other. Cerrus’ newfound patience would never last long if Ashley pushed him too far. 

As she headed down to the Cargo Bay she found Kaidan. “Kaidan, get your gear let’s go.” She stated deciding to take him along for one. Kaidan didn’t question and dropped what he was doing to go with her.

“Lead on Saren?” he asked and Sidda shook her head as she walked before him. 

“A request from Adm. Kahoku.” She stated and Kaidan narrowed his eyes, he’d heard that name. 

“Kahoku? The Kahoku?” he asked and she nodded. 

“Yep.” She replied. “One of his units went missing. We picked up an automated Alliace signal from the surface of the planet he sent us to.” She explained as she tapped the button on the lift. When they reached the Cargo Bay she found Ashley and Cerrus separate but the tension between them was obvious. “Garrus, get your stuff, we gotta go.” 

“Go where?” Ashley asked before he could. 

“A mission.” Sidda replied in a short tone with her. “How’s the Mako?” she directed to Garrus.

“Ready to go.” 

**

About two hours later Joker got the call for a pick up from the Mako team. Edolus was barely on the scale for hospitable. It was a hot, dusty, desert hell hole. Cerrus crossed the Cargo Bay as the ramp opened and was hit with a blast Edolus’ hot, dusty air. He hated deserts, Taetrus was a hot and humid jungle and that he preferred. Deserts were no good no matter how you looked at it; it wasn’t the heat that bothered him it was the dry air and the sand. Sand was the worse, it’s so coarse and found its way into every little nook and cranny to damaged armor, weapons, and get in his eyes. He sighed heavily, he really hated deserts. 

The Mako launched from the ledge and landed hard on the ramp. The ship shook as the giant tank made as graceful a landing as it could. The ramp began to close and the hum of the magnetic track locked the Mako into place. Ashley and Wrex had gathered as well and they all noticed the greenish-orange goop that was splattered all over the hull. His eyes narrowed to several parts that looked melted. “What the hell?” Cerrus asked out loud to no one specific. 

“Looks like they had a little fun.” Wrex stated as the hatch opened. 

“What is this stuff?” Ashley asked beating Cerrus to the question. 

“What’s left of a Thresher Maw.” Garrus replied as he was first to exit the tank followed by Kaidan and then Sidda.

Cerrus laughed loudly and was suddenly a little sad that he didn’t get to go along. He’d spent time on Tuchanka and had seen their Thresher Maws. He also knew that that inhospitable rock the Krogan called home wasn’t the only place those giant worms were found. “I’m almost sorry I didn’t get to go.” He stated.

“Yeah, taking on a Thresher Maw in a tank is not something I care to repeat, Captain.” Kaidan stated and Garrus snorted surveying the damage to the exterior hull. 

“Shepard, only you would go head to head with a Thresher Maw in a Mako.” Cerrus stated and Sidda gave him a mock smile. 

“Did you find the Marines?” Ashley asked and Sidda nodded with a sigh. 

“All ten.” She stated pulling a handful of dog tags out of the pack strapped to her leg. “Killed by the Maw.” 

Sidda broke the bad news to Kahoku, all of his men were killed but Kaidan was right, the massacre was strikingly familiar to a massacre on the planet Akuze. An entire Marine Detachment was killed when they wandered into a Thresher Maw nest. This was too similar and Sidda voiced that to the Admiral but there was nothing to suspect that it was anything more than a coincidence. 

**

Two days after the detour to Edolus the Normandy was back on track, it was powder keg on board with Cerrus and Ashley taking great pains to stay out of each other’s way since the threat from Sidda that went both ways. Cerrus honored his word to Sidda and helped facilitate the mission rather than create more issues with an internal feud. 

Cerrus was thankful for the card game that was started by Sidda and Kaidan, as he had the Cargo Bay to himself. Even Wrex had joined in and it had lasted through the evening, Garrus had invited him but he declined. He knew how to play cards and he played well but he preferred solace, he was a hard person to get to know and it was damn near impossible for anyone but another Turian to get to know him. In the past year he’d opened up to one person Rekka but he still didn’t trust her fully with his deepest secrets and feelings. Of course Nov was thrilled that Cerrus finally got laid but he could have killed his comrade for spreading that all over the ship. Cerrus didn’t call Desala his mate or his girlfriend but he did consider her a very close friend. He was frustrating for her and he could see that but she said nothing. 

Another benefit to the card game was Ashley had joined in leaving Cerrus free of the human that was worse than Sidda on every level. Since the Cargo Bay was clear he could do as he liked and chose his favorite past time, working on weapons. 

It was quiet save for the hum of the ship and the noises his task was making at the weapon bench. He had disassembled the Avenger and modified it. It was a simple weapon but reliable, not as reliable as its predecessor the Lancer but reliable well enough. 

The door to the engine room opened and he saw Tali walk in lost in her own tasks. He paid her no mind and went back to what he was doing. As he worked in silence he heard Tali rummaging through some crates and storage. He spared a few glances but kept to his task. 

He heard a heavy bang followed by a curse. “Bosh’tet.” Tali cursed quietly but his keen hearing heard it. 

Cerrus put down what he was working on and walked over to her location on the far side of the Mako. He rounded the corner and saw the little Quarian standing on a crate trying to reach a box in the upper storage. She stretched as far as she could but couldn’t get a grip on the crate. Cerrus said nothing to her and simply walked up next to her and reached the crate with ease. The Turian was over a foot taller than Tali and even standing on a crate she still wasn’t as tall as he. 

“You looked like you needed a hand.” He stated as she stepped down off the crate and took the smaller one that he handed her. 

Tali’s shyness showed through. “Thank you.” She said quietly and gave him a sheepish sounding giggle. “It’s not easy being smaller than everyone else.”

Cerrus actually chuckled to her. “Never had that problem, I’m the tallest in my family.”

She chuckled softly. “Everyone’s taller than me.” She replied. 

“You’re not playing cards with the others?” he asked and Tali looked up at him shaking her head.

“No…I’m still trying to get through what we found on Rothla.” She stated and walked with him back around the Mako. “It had more encryption then I thought.”

Cerrus nodded. “Do you need help?” he asked, no really sure why though, he didn’t know anything about hacking encryption. 

Tali sighed and shook her head. “Umm.. no…just waiting for the program to finish.” She stated and glanced over at the bench. “Why aren’t you up there with the rest?”

Cerrus shrugged shaking his head. “I’m not the friendliest person, Tali…I just prefer to work on weapons.”

Tali didn’t see him as unfriendly, she didn’t know him that well but so far she liked him, he was quiet and honest and seemed friendly enough to her. 

**

It took time but Tali had finally sifted through all the information that was retrieved from the base on Rothla. It was a long and painstaking process to find something that was worth anything, most of the information wasn’t about Saren or why the base was there.

While what they had found on Edolus was unnerving with its similarities to Akuze, Sidda returned to chasing her nemesis. Tali was finished with the Rothla data and most everyone had clustered into the briefing room to listen in. 

“I didn’t find anything specific but I did find pieces. Nothing on what was in the medical wing.” Tali stated and sounded irritated with the fact that she didn’t find more. 

“Seriously, you spent all that time and you came up with only a few pieces?” Ashley scoffed.

Cerrus was leaning on the wall listening quietly. “I didn’t see you helping.” He stated earning a glare from the Chief. “What did you find?” he asked ignoring her. 

Sidda eyed Cerrus, that was an odd comment from him. He was a nice guy under all the grouchiness and it occurred to her that she didn’t know him as well as she thought. He defended her once against Nov’s drunken rage but maybe she was seeing a different side to him, one that was easier to work with when they weren’t trying to kill each other. Ashley glared at him but said nothing with Sidda standing there ready to pounce on the next squabble that occurred. 

Tali seemed to be a little timid when confronted by someone like Ashley but she smiled a little hearing Cerrus speak up in her defense. “Umm… not much, a reference to a planet called Noveria. They were sending and receiving shipments but no description on what the cargo was. 

“Noveria…” Sidda asked. “Which one is that?” 

“Private corporate research.” Garrus answered. 

“Why would Saren be connected to corporate research?” Kaidan asked and Tali shrugged. 

“I don’t know there wasn’t much to find aside from regular base information and a little bit of shipment information.” Tali replied and sounded very dissatisfied with what she had to present to Shepard. 

“What about the Feros lead from the Council?” she asked and looked over to Kaidan. 

“Reports of Geth sighted at Zhu’s Hope.” Kaidan stated. “Tiny human colony mostly trying to live on their own but there’s a big ExoGeni presence. The colony’s located in the giant Prothean ruin which is also why there’s a big ExoGeni contingent.”

“So why the hell is Saren interested in Feros?” Ashley asked.

“It’s Prothean…that’s why he went after Eden Prime, that’s why we’ve been scouring as much Prothean tech as possible. Feros is where we’re gonna find Saren.” Sidda stated and scanned each of the members that had attended. “There’s something there he wants…something like a beacon or something. That’s the only reason he’d go there.”

“So Feros it is?” Cerrus asked and Sidda nodded. 

“Yeah, we’ll go to Feros next and hopefully we can nab that Turian bastard there.” She stated.

“And if it’s a dead end?” Ashley asked. “Then what?”

“We move onto the next lead.” She stated and looked to Kaidan. “Tell Pressley to plot a course for Feros. How’s the Mako?”

“Still repairing the melted parts.” Garrus replied. “Two hours…should be in top shape.”

Sidda nodded and trusted the rest to make sure weapons, armor, and equipment would ready to roll as soon as they met their destination. The Mako had seen a bit of mileage over the past week so making sure it was going to handle whatever was thrown at it was a bit of priority. What she wouldn’t give for a damn shuttle. “Okay, two hours and we go. Cerrus, Wrex, Tali…you’re coming with me.” 

The room nodded and dispersed leaving Sidda standing where she had been and scrolling through the data that Tali had come up with. She was actually irritated that she didn’t come up with more from Rothla, as baiting as Feros was she was very curious about just what type of shipments were being sent to Noveria. 

“Commander, I’ve got Adm. Kahoku on the line for you.” Joker chimed in and Sidda turned from her pace as she was alone in the briefing room. 

“Put him on, Joker.” She said. “Admiral.”

“Commander, I don’t have much time so I’ll get to it. I find myself in the position to ask for your help again.” He stated quickly, this time he didn’t appear on the holo so all she had was a disembodied voice to listen to. 

“Name it, Sir.” She stated quickly, whatever else she might be doing she was still and Alliance Officer. 

“I’ve done some checking, trying to find out what happened to my men. You were right, it mirrors Akuze to a T and that’s too much to be a coincidence. I was able to track down some information that I’m encrypting and transmitting to you now.” Kahoku stated and Sidda nodded. She really didn’t have time to for the deviation but she was willing to do it anyway.

“We’ll have a look at it, Sir.” She stated and Kahoku’s opinion of her increased.

“Paying for this information has made me…a target, Commander…I believe I am being followed.”

That statement rubbed Sidda the wrong way. “Admiral, if that’s the case then you need to alert C-Sec and the Alliance. I’ll come back to the Citadel and pick you u-…”

Kahoku cut her off brushing her suggestions aside. “I can take care of myself, Commander, you job is to find out who killed my men.” He stated and Sidda had been in the military long enough to get his tone. That was the tone of Admirals and Generals clinging to their pride. 

“Yes, Sir.” She replied quickly and the transmission ended. 

Sidda leaned on the comm console and rapidly tapped her fingernails on the casing; she really didn’t need another damn distraction. She really needed to find that Turian son of a bitch not go gallivanting across the galaxy searching for leads about missing marines and sinister plots. She said she’d go so Sidda tabled the Saren leads for now, the sooner she took care of this the sooner she could get back to turning the galaxy inside out for Saren and the Conduit. 

With a sigh, Sidda headed for the Galaxy Map and brought up the encrypted data that Kahoku sent trying to get a fix on where they needed to go. “Pressley,” she called. “set course for the Kepler Verge.” She stated and Pressley narrowed his eyes.

“What about Feros?” the navigator asked. 

“Feros is on hold.” She replied. “Ontarom, in the Newton System.”

“Yes, Commander.” Pressley replied and Sidda headed out. She stopped at her locker and then in her quarters. 

She sat down on her bed, then laid down lost in deep thought; she toyed with the pendant on her dog tags as it had become a habit since Victus gave it to her. She wished she had him right now; she could use his help and his company. So far the crew that she had acquired met the level she had grown accustom to with the Lante. They may have squabbled but they were good at their jobs, Garrus she liked…she liked him a lot and Kaidan too. The biotic was handsome and if things had gone differently for her she could see herself rolling around in bed with him. All this aside…she still missed Victus.

**

The Cargo Bay usually saw more recreational activity then the Crew Deck did, this time it was no different. Sidda made her way down to find a curious scene; so far it had been a little over a week since Cerrus was yanked on board by the scruff of his neck. In that time he’d successfully figured out how to work with Sidda which was a stark contrast to their previous relationship but he’d also stated a mortal war with Ashley. That being said, one would figure that the person he would talk to was the other Turian on board, Garrus. Not true, aside from mission specific conversation the pair didn’t say six words to each other. So when Sidda observed the two Turians sparring, actually sparring, it made her cock her head. 

Cerrus was one of the best hand to hand fighters that she had ever seen in either the Alliance or the Turian military. He was third rank on the Lante second to Victus and Nov but he was the most brutal out of them all. From what she saw Garrus was no slouch either. 

“Guess I misjudged C-Sec…you guys can fight.” Cerrus taunted and Garrus mused. 

“Top rank on the Sentinel two years in a row.” Garrus replied and Cerrus replied with a snort. 

Sidda skirted their chosen sparring area and approached Ashley who was busy going over the weapons inventory. Ashley was aggravated with Cerrus who did the same thing and tended to strip and modify the guns without asking. According to Sidda, that was what he did on the Lante and what he did when he was bored or couldn’t sleep. It still irritated Ashley to no end knowing that Cerrus did what he pleased with the weapons. 

“This is new.” Sidda stated out loud referring to the sparring pair and Ashley scoffed.

“Can you put a stop to this?” she asked sounding irritated. “They’ve been going at it for the past half hour. That’s all I need to hear…two Turians grunting like cavemen.” She bitched. 

“You should train with Cerrus. Say what you will about Turians but their hand to hand puts the Alliance to shame.” Sidda stated and received a disgusted snort from the Chief.  
“Maybe you think that.” She hissed and Sidda gave the soldier who was bordering on insubordinate. 

“Chief, you may not like him but he knows what he’s doing.” Sidda replied. “I hate him. He’s an asshole, he’s condescending…did I mention he’s an asshole?” she stated. “That man kicked my ass every day for the better part of six months.”

“With respect, Commander, I don’t care.” Ashley replied and Sidda sighed, if she didn’t get those two to fight it out the ship would remain the SSV Powder Keg. 

She returned her attention to the match going on. From what she was observing Garrus and Cerrus were evenly matched, Garrus was slightly shorter but his stance mirrored Cerrus’. Though she guessed that Garrus was nowhere near as brutal as Cerrus was when it came to fighting, Cerrus was a dirty fighter too, his philosophy in hand to hand was a little basic: nothing is fair about a fight. Period. “Change of plans guys…we’re not going to Feros. We gotta make a stop first.” The boys weren’t finished with their match but they both stopped and turned their attention to her. 

**

The Mako dropped like a meteor onto the planet of Ontarom, yet another inhospitable rock awaited them. Nitrogen rich atmosphere and hot enough to make a Turian sweat, Ontarom was a communication hub for the Alliance, they had a few dish fields set up for both military and civilian use but they were after something hundreds of kliks away from anything like that. They hadn’t encountered anything as of yet but they followed the coordinates that came with Kahoku’s information. It was odd that they hadn’t found anything so far but then again they didn’t really know what they were walking into. 

They reached their target without a fuss, and filed out of the Mako, the general consensus was that this was way too damn easy. They weren’t too sure what this was all about but given the connection to the dead marines from Edolus it was obvious that it couldn’t be very good.

The information from Kahoku said this was a science facility of some sort so seeing a few rovers and monitoring items scatter about on the surface was to be expected, but they had so far seen no signs of life. The facility looked like the circular dome type that was common, as they filed out of the Mako Cerrus and Wrex observed their surroundings. 

“Anyone else find it odd that they have an armed personnel carrier?” Cerrus asked noticing that Wrex had seen the same thing. 

“And fresh tracks…” Wrex added looking at the treads in the mud leading up to the bunker. 

“There’s more in there than just scientists, Shepard.” Cerrus explained as Tali tapped a few keys on the panel quickly defeating any security. 

Sidda sighed. “Alright, let’s see what’s going on.” She said and looked to Tali. “Tali?”

“Ready.” The Quarian replied as Sidda opened the door and entered followed by her team. 

**

As they entered, the facility seemed as normal as could be, except for the two dead bodies they spied as soon as they entered. Sidda grumbled annoyed with the trail of bodies she either created or followed lately. She could hear Wrex make a noise that probably mirrored her irritation but she suspected the Krogan was itching for a fight. 

“Well, this looks promising.” She heard Cerrus mutter from behind Tali. “These look like scientists…not mercs.”

More gunfire drew their attention telling them that whatever fight that had started wasn’t finished. “Oh, good…” Wrex began with a chuckle. “a firefight.” He stated with glee in his voice. 

Cerrus chuckled, he liked this Krogan. “I like you, Wrex.” He stated and Wrex scoffed, that probably wasn’t high up on the Krogan’s bucket list…winning the approval of a Turian.  
“Check fire, until we know what the hell is going on.” She stated and they moved further into the facility. 

Coming to a door the four separated on either side of it, Tali and Wrex on the right and Sidda and Cerrus on the left. Wrex hit the button to open it and they slipped in hugging the wall on either side, it was a good thing they stuck to the walls hiding behind whatever crates because they had found their adversary. They looked like mercenaries, about a dozen of them and they drew down as soon as they found the open door. Soon enough Sidda’s team was embroiled in a firefight.

Sidda could see a pile of dead bodies near the center of the room, they were clothed the same as the bodies they found in the hall. If this was supposed to be a research facility the smart money bet was they were the scientists that ran the place. It wasn’t like Sidda could stop and ask what was going on, she would have liked to but the mercs didn’t give her that option. 

Cerrus expertly took down his targets without much fuss and he kept an eye on those of the team that he could see. He could hear Wrex laughing during his combat and had to snort at the Krogan’s approach to battle. He couldn’t see Tali though, but could hear the loud bark from her shotgun. 

Sidda rolled away from a grenade and made it to a pillar but the explosion made her ears ring. She unleashed a warp into the one that threw the grenade and targeted the one that appeared to her left. The pistol didn’t fire when she pulled the trigger and she looked at her weapon in disbelief, Vidinos didn’t strike her as the type that would keep a weapon that misfired. “Fuck.” She cursed and moved around the pillar to get out of the line of fire. “Cerrus!!”

Despite the chaos of the firefight the Turian was able to hear the distress call over all the noise and shifted his focus. Sidda heard the explosion from a carnage shot that effectively eliminated her current issue and started unleashing biotics all over the field. Any attempt to find out who they were went out the window when they opened fire and she was okay with that. Dead people were easier to search. 

It wasn’t often that Cerrus was taken by surprise. That being said, 800lbs of Krogan rushing him from the side most definitely qualified as a surprise. He thanked his lucky stars for his top of the line and heavily upgraded heavy armor that served to cushion the impact as he was smashed into the wall like a bug. His right shoulder hit first and even through the plate of his armor he felt everything compress to the middle. His grunt was lost under the Krogan’s roar as the mercenary tried to blow Cerrus’ head off with a shotgun. Cerrus didn’t have a whole lot of room to maneuver, the Krogan was stronger than he was but he wasn’t about to be done in by an over grown lizard. He blocked the shotgun and was able to push it off from a direct line to his face and turned his head at the last second to avoid the blast. The round discharged into the wall missing Cerrus’ face by less than an inch. Cerrus’ face stung as the muzzle produced a flame thrower of hot air and gas went into the left side of his face along with a ton of shrapnel. He hissed to the sting of it and planted his right foot as high up on the wall as he could and pushed off with all the strength he could muster trying to shove the heavy Krogan off of him. He managed to get enough to allow him to add his left foot and shove the Krogan into the wall across the hall. 

It occurred to Cerrus that he wasn’t going to beat this Krogan in hand to hand; he had to get away from him if he wanted to live. The Krogan shoved Cerrus off him and lined up on him with the shotgun again; Cerrus dodged the shot that was fired, but only just. He felt the round hit the extreme right side of his waist and his glare could have killed the Krogan…if only he had that power. 

He was finally able to collect his rifle and fired a burst into the Krogan but that only served to further piss it off. The Krogan roared and charged, a charging Krogan was a bad thing, if that pissed off death machine got to him again he was a goner. Cerrus back pedaled as quickly as reverse would allow and lined up again with his rifle. Something hit him as he backed up quickly and knocked him off his feet; he thought it was a warp because of how it made him feel. He landed on his back hard and his rifle clattered away, the Krogan was still charging and he was at a severe disadvantage now. The Turian scrambled backward on his back and drew the only weapon he had left, his pistol, and rapidly fired as many shots as he possibly could. The Krogan dropped after several shots were leveled into his face and head. Cerrus must have capped off over a dozen rounds and his pistol overheated just as the Krogan fell. 

Cerrus let out a breath that he didn’t know he was holding and laid back flat and counting his blessings. “Fuck me.” He breathed and felt the sting in his face; he’d check that damage later but he took the time to look at his Brawler pistol tipping the barrel against his forehead. “Baby, you’re the best.” He stated taking a few seconds before getting to his feet. 

Sidda grumbled to her pistol as she eyes it with sheer irritation; damn thing nearly got her killed. The firefight stilled and her team ventured out of the woodwork, wherever it was they landed during the fight. 

“Everyone okay?” she asked and saw Cerrus’ bloodied face. “Damn, you okay?”

Cerrus waved her off and nodded. “I’m fine.” He stated quickly, it was a lie…half of his face hurt like hell. Mostly it burned; he didn’t much care about the shrapnel but the burn from the muzzle flash made it worse. 

A single gunshot was heard and the four of them swarmed the far door they hadn’t checked yet. When it opened Sidda was the first through and saw a man holding a gun on a scientist. This was the time for her to get some answers. 

“Drop it.” She ordered and the human man in armor holding the gun looked at her sharply but didn’t comply. 

“Thank God!” the scientist exclaimed. “The Alliance sent help…this man killed my staff and he’s going to kill me.”

“Drop the weapon.” Sidda ordered but he gave her a cold expression, she’s seen that look before. That was the look reserved for people who had nothing left to lose. 

When the man saw her his weapon remained on the scientist. “You’re Cdr. Shepard.” He stated and Sidda looked him up and down. 

“Who are you?” she asked and the doctor got antsy. 

“What does it matter, Commander, shoot him before he shoots me.” He barked and Sidda kept her eyes on the man with the gun. 

“Shut up!” the gunman barked he noticed Sidda’s N7 insignia and eyed her quickly. “My name is Toombs. Cpl. Anthony Toombs; Alliance Marines.”

She didn’t really want to shoot him if she didn’t have to and waved off the other three to make it a little less volatile a situation. “Put the weapon down, Corporal.” She ordered.

“No.” he replied in a growl. “You don’t know what’s going on here, Commander, Cerberus is evil. They kept me for so long I lost track. This man led the tests, didn’t you, Dr. Wayne?”  
Sidda blinked hearing a familiar word. “Cerberus?” she questioned, she’d heard that name before and her brain flipped through the rolodex of crap she’d encountered. The mission to Nebewa, where she first met Nihlus, the woman running the show called themselves Cerberus in her final breath. This was starting to come together but still didn’t make a whole lot of sense. “What do you know about Cerberus?”

“They captured me…on Akuze…all those years ago.” He replied and Sidda cocked her head. 

“The Marine detachment?” she inquired. “No one survived.”

Toombs still didn’t lower the gun but he seemed to relax slightly as someone was finally listening to him. “I did.” He said quietly. “They set it up and watched. When the Maw was finished they found me, still alive but barely. They experimented on me…” he trailed off but didn’t lose his focus. “Do you know what happens to people when Thresher Maw acid is injected into the blood, Commander? I do.”

Sidda glanced back to Cerrus whose eyes never wavered from the obvious threat in the room. If this doctor was a part of ‘Cerberus’ she really didn’t need him dead. He could answer a lot of questions for her and Maridus but also if Toombs was for real this could be the break that Kahoku was looking for. “Doctor?” she asked.

“I’ve never seen this man in my life, he’s crazy. He just killed my staff!” Wayne stated and Toombs regressed. 

“Stop lying!” Toombs yelled and pressed the pistol closer. “You captured me! You tortured me!”

“Corporal!” Sidda warned hoping to reach the soldier in him. “Stand down.” She stated and didn’t give up on reasoning with him. “Anthony, listen to me. If he’s guilty of what you say he is let me take him, I’ll drop him at the Alliance.” She said and Toombs shook his head. “I’ve had dealings with Cerberus before they tried to kill two of my friends the Alliance knows about them.”

“Of course they do…Cerberus used to be one of their Black Ops.” Toombs stated. “They went rogue.” 

“If you kill him nothing gets solved.” She stated and lowered her weapon. “I’m just asking for you to trust me. Another unit was killed the same way yours was…we need him alive. You have my word I’m gonna help you get to the bottom of this but I can’t do that if you blow his head off.”

Toombs seemed to be weighing his options, he wanted revenge for what happened to him but he also didn’t want this to happen to anyone else and he wanted Cerberus to answer for their crimes. Shepard was an Alliance hero and he knew that. “They say you’re a hero, Commander.”

Sidda edged a step closer to the traumatized soldier. “That’s what they say.”

“The Hero of Elysium.” He said and Sidda really hated be called that but felt proud of it right now if it made him trust her. 

“Put that weapon down, let me take him, and come with me, and I promise I won’t let you down.” She said and Toombs looked at her instead of Wayne. He locked eyes with her and dropped his weapon down to his side before hesitating to hand it to her. When he did Sidda nodded to him. 

“Tali, Cerrus, take the good Doctor into custody.” She ordered and they both didn’t question it. Dr. Wayne however had other issues.

“You can’t do this, Commander, this man is crazy!” Wayne protested and shoved Tali away from him but didn’t get too far away as Cerrus snatched him up with a firm grip and a growl. 

“Until I sort this out, you’re coming with me.” She stated and Wayne continued to protest. “Tali, get on their main computer and capture what data you can.”

**

Chakwas dabbed a disinfectant to the cuts on Cerrus’ face and the Turian hissed. She had cleaned up the left side and honestly it wasn’t that bad of an injury, the burns made it feel worse than it was and the shrapnel piece she dug away from his eye caused him to bleed like crazy. 

“Your file says you can’t use medigel, Captain, I’ve heard of severe clinical cases of allergic reactions but never seen one.” She stated and Cerrus hissed as the disinfectant got deep into the cut by his eye. 

“I’ll take my shirt off for you, Doctor, then you can see how severe it gets.” He stated and Chakwas continued working dabbing more into the cut, it didn’t sting this time and Cerrus sat as still as a statue. 

“Excessive scarring?” she asked and Cerrus grunted an affirmation. “So you can use it…but only in life threatening situations.”

“Yeah.” He replied. “I have a pistol shot that looks like I was hit by a shotgun.” 

Chakwas nodded, it was important information for her to know and while she hadn’t worked on too many Turians in her life she was familiar with their biology. “Well, you should be fine with minimal scarring.” She stated. “I’ve applied a topical analgesic so just let be and come see me if you need anything else.”

Cerrus stood from the bed rising to his 6’6” height nodding to the doctor. “Thank you.”

The Medical Bay door opened and Sidda stepped in just as Cerrus was trying to leave. “Hey, how’s the face?” she asked and Cerrus shrugged. 

“Fine.” He replied and Sidda could have bet on that answer.

“Can you do me a favor?” she asked and the Turian’s posture stiffened. He never did relax no matter what was going on. He looked down at her as she handed him her pistol. “Fucking thing misfired…like it over heated and I don’t know why.”

Cerrus took the black weapon and examined it finding it very familiar. His eyes narrowed as he held it in his left hand and ran his right hand across it. “This is Magnus’ gun.” He stated and looked at her fairly confused. “Why do you have it?”

“Who?” she replied and Cerrus nearly grumbled. There was no mistake he’d seen this pistol enough to recognize it as his academy friends’.

“Magnus Vidinos.” He stated.

Sidda had forgotten his first name but nodded. “Oh yeah, he gave it to me after I kicked his ass on Pinnacle Station.” She stated and Cerrus’ eyes remained narrow. “Wait, how do you know him?”

“He was my best friend growing up and through the academy.” He stated. “He’s had this gun since our first assignment. I built it for him.”

“How did I know that you two assholes were friends?” Sidda scoffed and if she didn’t know better she could have sworn he grinned. Vidinos was just like him and he knew that if he and Sidda went at each other it must have been explosive. 

“You survived…that’s all you need.” He replied and Sidda’s glower actually made him snort. “I’ll fix it.” He said and excused himself letting Sidda get on with what she was doing. She needed to talk to Toombs, this former Alliance soldier that may or may not be telling the truth. 

“Hey, Doc, how is he?” she asked referring to Toombs sitting on the furthest bed looking whole heartedly uncomfortable. 

“Traumatized…I can’t even begin to know what’s been done to him but there are signs of severe physical abuse. Needle scarring, mental trauma…he doesn’t trust me, it took me an hour just to get close enough to examine him.” Chakwas stated and Sidda nodded. 

“Give me a minute with him, please.” Sidda said and as Chakwas left Sidda made her way to Toombs. “How ya doing?” she asked and Toombs looked at her. 

“Where are we going?” he asked. 

“Arcturus Station but before that you said you escaped from somewhere…where was it?” she asked.

Toombs eyed her, so far she seemed like she could be trusted but he was still leery of it. “Why? What do you know about Cerberus?”

Sidda hopped on the bed next to his. “Last year I had mission. People had been going missing and it caught the eye of a Council Spectre. Long story short there was a secret facility on a planet called Nebewa run by an organization called ‘Cerberus’, I didn’t have a clue what they were at the time but the Marine unit on Edolus mirrors what happened on Akuze exactly.” She stated and Toombs relaxed a little. 

“What were they doing on Nebewa?” he asked and Sidda sighed.

“Experiments. They seemed hell bent on dissecting a Turian that was with us.” She answered. “I don’t know the whole story about what was going on we lost most of the data. I just want to know where you escaped from, if they’re responsible for what happened to you and the unit on Edolus I want to shut them down.”

Toombs nodded finding her so far the only person he seemed to trust. “Binthu.”

“Thank you.” She said and left him alone to rest. She couldn’t imagine what he had been through but it was confirmed that Cpl. Anthony Toombs was a member of the unit that was lost on Akuze and Hackett was very curious to meet him. Before that Sidda wanted answers and didn’t mind putting Saren on hold for this. She’d already tried several times to reach Kahoku but got no response. 

**

True to Cerrus’ word, he had the pistol disassembled in front of him. Vidinos’ pistol was a heavily modified Haliat Stiletto. Vidinos was as much of a gun bunny as he was so when Vidinos acquired the expensive handgun during their first posting together Cerrus modified it for him. Now it was almost unrecognizable as a Stiletto but Cerrus could pick this gun out of a crowd, he must be slipping…he never noticed this before. 

Tali opened her locker and looked over at the Turian hunched over a disassembled pistol. “How’s your face?” she asked and Cerrus looked up from what he was doing. 

“It hurts.” He replied and Tali closed the locker moving closer to him to get a better look. The flash didn’t melt any flesh it just made it tender, like a sunburn, the cuts on top of those hurt for the simple reason that it felt like his face was on fire. The deep cut that was created by a chunk of the wall was deep on his cheekbone. “Ouch.”

“Believe me the Krogan wanted to do a lot worse.” He stated and Tali giggled. 

“I’m glad he didn’t.” she stated and Cerrus looked down at her as she excused herself. 

Cerrus paused working and watched her leave with an inward smile and a snort to himself. 

**

It didn’t take long for the Normandy to make it to Binthu, instead of going to Arcturus first she decided to just cut to the chase and go to the source. Sidda sidelined Cerrus and took Kaidan and Ashley down to investigate. 

“So you’ve dealt with Cerberus before?” Kaidan asked as the Mako sped across Binthu’s dusty acid rain prone surface.

“Yeah, they tried to kill Maridus, Nihlus, and me in one swing.” Sidda replied. “They failed.”

“So what happens if this turns out to be a wild goose chase?” Kaidan asked and Sidda shrugged.

“It’s not…I’ll bet you dinner on that.” She stated and Kaidan let a grin spread across his face. 

“I like Goose.” He stated and Sidda couldn’t help but snort. 

“Funny.” She replied and Kaidan chuckled loudly. 

The Mako shook as the defenses for the facility found them; Toombs’ information was spot on with where it was. Sidda didn’t know why but she trusted Toombs, yes he was a little unstable but so far she had no reason to suspect him.

A few turrets and a half a dozen mercs, or guards or whatever they were, squished by the Mako and Ashley’s driving skills later they had access to the facility. The security was a little tough to bypass but Kaidan was sufficiently skilled enough to bypass it. Whoever was inside probably already knew they had some uninvited guests. 

With Sidda on point they slipped into the ‘research’ facility with relative ease though it was odd that they didn’t encounter resistance until they reached the heart of the facility. As they moved through they found holding cells, large square observation cells cordoned off by a mass effect field. So far two of them were empty but their intrusion had not gone unnoticed, as soon as they set foot in the first holding room they were attacked by an onslaught of guards. Unlike everything they had faced so far, Sidda noticed that they were all human; not a Krogan, Salarian, or Turian among them…not even an Asari. 

Sidda knelt down to a dead guard and examined the woman closer. The uniform was familiar, at least the insignia was. “Toombs is right.” She stated and Kaidan hovered over her looking down at what she was. “This is the same insignia…I’ve seen this before.”

“What are they holding in these?” Ashley asked and Sidda stood from the guard. 

“My guess is one of them was Cpl. Toombs.” She replied. “Let’s continue on and ask, shall we?”

They kept moving and came across a third holding cell surrounded by more guards and about five scientists. This one was a little harder to punch through there were over 20 armed guards that played ring around the rosy with the holding cell. None of them got out of this without some kind of damage, Kaidan took a sniper shot to the arm, Ashley had to beat a vanguard into submission but got as good as she gave, and Sidda went head to head with another biotic. 

By the time the fight was over Sidda had been thrown into the wall at the most awkward angle imaginable, if it hadn’t been for her armor she probably would have broken something. “Ow…” she groaned and righted herself looking to Ashley with a thankful nod. She and the Chief may not have been on the same terms about things but she certainly came in handy. “Kaidan, you okay?” she asked and collected her rifle. 

The medic grumbled and examined the wound a bit closer for a second. “Yeah…just winged me.”

“Commander, you better take a look at this.” Ashley said as she stood close to the mass effect barrier surrounding the holding cell. There was a body lying in the middle of the floor, this was the first one that actually had someone or something in it. 

“Kaidan.” She called and the sentinel didn’t need any other orders than that. He activated his Omni-tool and quickly bypassed the security. When the field came down Sidda moved closer with her weapon ready but as she drew nearer she noticed the Alliance uniform then she realized why she couldn’t get a hold of Adm. Kahoku. “Oh my God…” she breathed. “That’s Adm. Kahoku.”

Kaidan knelt down next to his body and checked his vitals but sighed deeply before looking up at Sidda. “He’s dead, Commander.” He stated and Sidda’s jaw tightened. 

“He said he was being followed.” She stated as Kaidan noticed a needle mark on his neck. “Toombs was right…” Ashley saw her temper flaring as it had before with Nihlus’ death. Her jaw tightened and she started to pace a little. “Kaidan, find the main computer and get everything you can.”

**

Toombs slowly approached Sidda tentatively. “Commander.” He announced and she twisted to see him but didn’t move. The corporal was unstable and dangerous but so far he’d shown no aggression toward her. He was far from relaxed but it placed trust in her. 

“Corporal.” She replied with a smile, Sidda couldn’t imagine the level of torture they put him through the countless experiments he endured. Just hearing they injected him with Thresher Maw acid was enough to make her skin crawl. 

“Tony, please.” He stated and that sounded odd to him. It had been years since someone called him by his name. Cerberus called him by his rank and occasionally by his last name but that was it. Sidda had listened to him and did far more for him than anyone else ever did. “I wanted to thank you for believing me. I escaped months ago and no one believed me when I told them, they all thought I was crazy.” 

Her eyes drifted down and she shook his outstretched hand with a nod. “It was my pleasure, Tony.”

He let go of her hand as quickly as she sook it, uncomfortable with the contact. “There are more of them out there. You know that right?” he asked as the Normandy shook when it made contact with the Arcturus docking cradle. “They…they do…horrible things to people…it wasn’t just me trapped in there. I saw others and heard worse.”

“If I find them I’ll shut them down…you have my word on that. The Alliance will have everything I have, we will get them.” She stated and Toombs wasn’t exactly convinced but he actually trusted Sidda. Since the rumor was that Cerberus started out as an Alliance Black Op the idea of them running the show looking into Cerberus didn’t give him much confidence. He trusted Sidda; she followed through on Ontarom and again on Binthu and never once looked at him like he was crazy. Now she was going to hand the Cerberus doctor over to the Alliance to be questioned. “If you need me, you call.” She stated and the sincerity in her voice was apparent. “I mean it.”

For the first time in he couldn’t remember how long he actually smiled. “Thank you, Commander.” He stated and the airlock door cycled open. Now it was time to offload Dr. Wayne, Toombs, and Adm. Kahoku’s body along with a copy of the information they had gathered on Ontarom and Binthu. She was happy to be back on track and hunting for her Turian quarry but she didn’t mind helping shut Cerberus down. Something told her that this was bigger than what they had found and it was far from over. 

**

In her quarters she leaned back in the desk chair rubbing her face, she was tired and wanted to sleep but Hackett wanted a complete report on the mess with Cerberus ASAP so she slaved over her computer writing it up. Her silence was interrupted by her comm officer.

“Transmission coming in for you, Commander.” The woman stated and Sidda stretched her back. 

“Thank you, Ensign, put it through.” She replied not really caring who it was from at this particular point. 

“Commander, I represent an interested party and I understand you have come into possession of some intelligence that was promised to my employer.” a male disembodied voice stated, it was human she could tell that but beyond that it was anyone’s guess. 

Sidda narrowed her eyes. “And your employer is?” she asked a little surprised by his bold speech. 

“The Shadow Broker.” He stated and Sidda sighed, that illusive bastard was the bane of her existence so far. Selling secrets to her enemy, facilitating a hit…she really didn’t like him. “The Broker made a deal with Adm. Kahoku to turn over any information gained from the Cerberus facility on Ontarom. We are willing to offer you the same deal with an impressive sum.”

Sidda’s answer was simple and she scoffed. The Broker worked with Saren and damn near killed her and her crew. He was not her ally and he wasn’t really her enemy, he worked for himself and whoever furthered his own goal. “No.” she answered bluntly and there was a long pause on the line.

“Commander, be smart about this.” He stated and Sidda shook her head. 

“Tell your Boss to choose his clients better next time and tell him that if he wants this information he’s gonna have to run over me to get it. He dealt with a traitor, a Spectre who killed one of his own and tried to kill me.” She growled. “Your Boss burned up whatever currency he may have had with me.”

“I’m sorry we couldn’t do business, Commander.” He said and Sidda shook her head.

“I’m not.” She stated and could hear the aggravation in the representatives’ voice.

“The Broker will not forget this, Commander.” He stated and the comm line ended.

Sidda shook her head with a snort. “Yeah…he can get in line.”


	25. Feros

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Twenty Five: Feros

Feros was lush and green, and at one point, a thriving Prothean metropolis. Nearly 2/3s of the planet was covered in crumbling Prothean ruins with numerous skyscrapers reaching far into the sky, all connected by a series of skyways. But it wasn’t always. If the archaeologists and anthropologists were to be believed, who’ve spent enormous amounts of time on the planet studying the ruins and barely scratched the surface, Feros had been inhabited for over 100,000 years and used to be very cold. From the way the Protheans had constructed certain buildings and the aqueduct systems told scientists that the climate required some extra measures to get fresh water to the cities. Feros’ climate had warmed some allowing for dense vegetation at ground level below the buildings and skyways. 

Zhu’s Hope was a colony, if you could call 300 people a colony, set up in a tall stable skyscraper that seemed to be at the center of what was left of the metropolis. There really wasn’t much to the colony, just a connection of prefabs and repurposed ruins along the skyway and closer to the ExoGeni science base. 

The colony had been attacked repeatedly by Geth which, until Sidda showed up, was a complete mystery since Zhu’s Hope had no tactical value or resources that the Geth would need. It was Saren, there was something on this planet that he wanted and judging by his behavior so far he was hunting Prothean relics. Whatever the Conduit was it had to be Prothean and everything was beginning to show the Reaper theory was true. 

**

Cerrus didn’t like Zhu’s Hope and it wasn’t because it was a human colony, something was off about this place he just couldn’t put his finger on it. The people, the vibe, hell, even the buildings were making him very uncomfortable. It may have sounded odd to anyone else but Garrus confirmed it also before he took off with Sidda and Wrex on a safari across the skyway but this place smelled strange. 

Sidda left Cerrus in charge of helping the colonists clean up from the attacks and prepare for any others. Zhu’s Hope was a mess, its defenses were in shambles and guarded by civilians, no power, no water, and very little food. Tali was a big help, after a lifetime in the Flotilla she could jury rig anything and make it work and Liara and Kaidan were proving useful as well helping tend to any wounded. 

Cerrus couldn’t shake the feeling that something on this planet was very, very wrong. It didn’t thrill Ashley that Sidda left him in charge but he was there to do a job not win a popularity contest. He may not have been the most agreeable person in the galaxy but when it came to doing a job he did it, grudgingly maybe, but he did it. No matter his views or feelings on humans he recognized when innocent people were suffering and the protector in him trumped his racism. He’d already argued with the Chief twice about moving supplies from the Normandy to the colony and swore that if he had to do it a third time he’d wring the scrawny Hispanic’s neck. 

Cerrus moved through Zhu’s Hope’s center compound keeping his eyes open trying to get himself settled. It really didn’t help that the Humans here were even less keen on seeing him then he was at the seeing them. Arcelia was especially hostile toward his ‘help’, another Human with a grudge against his kind. It wasn’t like his didn’t share the distain but he bit his tongue and did what Sidda had asked and helped rebuild the colony’s basic support. 

With the exception of the grudging truce and still very shaky alliance he had with Sidda the only Human on board he didn’t want to outright kill was Kaidan. The Biotic was quiet, did his job, and for the most part he only spoke when something needed to be said. Dr. Chakwas was another that he didn’t mind but he could count on one hand how many times he’d actually spoken to her outside of helping soothe his burns. On the other hand, Joker pushed his patience farther than anyone ever dreamed and Ashley…Ashley he’d just as soon drop off a cliff but he’d settle for the Skyway. 

His current saving grace was Tali. Liara was a sweet young Asari maiden but she was far too naïve for his taste and he was floored that Nov hadn’t given up his endless chase for the Commander when presented with Liara. Tali may have been young but she was smart and resourceful. He truly enjoyed being around her. He looked her up and down as he rounded the corner, she had offered to help with the power situation and honestly she was the perfect person to fix it. She was on her knees in the dirt intently working on the main power junction. The Quarian had been jury rigging stuff for most of her life and this was no different. The conduit she was working on hummed to life and he heard her give it a pleased grunt. 

“Nice job, Tali.” He praised and she looked up at him as she snaked her small hand inside the exposed junction. 

“Hmm?” she replied confused as to what he meant then quickly connected the dots. “Oh, thanks…I took one of the Mako’s spare power cells; it was close enough to the older system they’re using. It should make it easier when they find more.” 

Cerrus nodded impressed with her knowledge; honestly he should have expected that. Tali could fix damn near anything, the one person he’d ever met that could give Nov a run for his money. “At least it’s one problem fixed. This colony’s a mess.” He said offering his right hand to help her up from the ground. 

Tali accepted his hand and Cerrus easily hauled to her feet. “Still leaves them without water. I don’t know what the problem is but I know I can’t fix it from here.” She stated brushing the dirt from her clothing and looked up at him, there was something bothering him and she could see it. 

“What’s wrong?” she asked and Cerrus sighed. 

Cerrus looked down at her then over his shoulder scanning the colony quietly observing. “Something’s not right here, Tali.”

Tali looked up at him then over to what he was looking at then back to him. “What?” she asked and the Turian sighed sounding frustrated. 

“I don’t know…I can’t put my finger on it.” He stated with a frustrated growl. He’d gone soft surrounded by Humans and Asari, he missed the Lante and the highly trained and attuned people he’d worked with for so long. What was it about this place? “It looks wrong, smells wrong, feels wrong…I don’t know what it is.”

Tali had to agree with him, not merely to make him feel better but she noticed the odd behavior of the colonists too. “Yeah…people are acting strange…even for humans.” She stated and he snorted. 

“Sounds like something I’d say.” He muttered and she giggled. 

Tali didn’t have a problem with Humans, she didn’t have much experience with them and she’d had more bad experiences with Turians, but she could tell Cerrus’ issues were personal. “What do you have against them?” she asked and Cerrus paused with heavy sigh.

“That’s a very long story.” He said and turned to face her. “I’ll tell you some other time.”

“Captain.” Kaidan called and motioned for him to come over.

“Let me know what you need to fix the water.” He said to Tali and walked away toward Kaidan to find out what he wanted. 

Tali’s eyes lingered on the big Turian as he moved away from her, Fleet and Flotilla stirred her love of Turians long ago but most she’d met didn’t treat her as well as Garrus and Cerrus did. 

**

There was still no contact with Sidda’s team and that worried Kaidan, Cerrus wasn’t as worried about it but it did nag in the back of his mind. She’d left him in charge but he wasn’t gonna go charging after her because she wasn’t sticking to the timed schedule. If there was one thing he’d learned about Sidda and actually respected was her ability to handle just about anything, it may not have been smooth or without heavy tweaking to the plan but she always figured out how to accomplish the mission. 

“Where are you going?” Tali asked as she spied Cerrus walking past her checking the Crossfire as he walked. 

The Turian paused and looked over at her and shifted his direction toward her to talk to her. “Going hunting.” He stated and Tali watched him switch the ammo mod from his favored armor piercing to a sledge round. “Varren trouble, apparently.” He stated though he didn’t sound overly impressed with the issue, Varren were a formidable foe but not something that required the skills of an Operative like him. “You wanna come?” 

Tali’s smile was hidden by her mask and nodded. She wasn’t really a hunter but she liked the idea of spending more time with him. “Sure.” She stated and he could hear the smile in her voice. 

“Alenko,” He called as Tali checked out her shotgun the same as he did. “keep an eye on things here, we’ll be back. Anything happens let us know.”

**

The tunnels were as unsettling as to be expected, Cerrus moved with purpose practically daring any issues to show themselves. He really didn’t like to slink around as he preferred to tackle things head on; there was a very good possibility that loose Geth were down here though most of them chased after the Mako as Sidda sped across the Skyway toward the Geth ship. 

“So…I heard you used to have a mate.” Tali broached, and Cerrus paused mid step looking down at her unsure how to respond to that. The first response that crossed his mind was the one he usually resorted to, hostility but he stopped himself. He let out an uncomfortable sigh and nodded as he kept moving. 

“Yes…I did.” He answered and couldn’t help but sound uncomfortable.

“What happened?” she asked even though something told her not to press. She wanted to know him better, to understand him and maybe curb the hostility he carried. 

Cerrus stopped completely, seven years later it still wasn’t easy to talk about. “She died.” He stated and turned toward her. “Can we not talk about this now?” he asked but didn’t want to make her feel bad about asking him personal questions. “Later…I promise on the Normandy you can ask me anything you want and I’ll be happy to tell you but…”

Tali still felt like she over stepped a bound but he never seemed angry or upset to her. She immediately began to stammer and ducked her head away and walked ahead of him. “Sure. No problem.” She stated and Cerrus studied her as she moved in front of him.

“I’m distracted enough as it is.” He muttered quietly.

Hunting Varren wasn’t tough and really didn’t take two people to do so, Cerrus easily headshot the Alpha that was giving their hunter so much trouble. He tapped the animal with his right foot satisfied with how dead it was and glanced over to Tali crouched down by a defunct military grade APC that was probably 10 years old. He snorted to the Quarian still scavenging for parts it was probably a habit for her and even more so now that she was on her pilgrimage. 

“Finding new toys?” he asked as she gave a triumphant ‘ah-ha’ to a piece she pulled from the nose of the machine. 

“You bring me to the nicest places.” She giggled enjoying having the opportunity to flirt with him. 

Cerrus made his way over to her with a bit of a swagger as Tali would call it. He scoffed to her statement and shook his head. “Believe me, Tali; I’d take you somewhere a hell of a lot nicer than this.”

She liked the sound of that and stood coming to his chest nearly a foot shorter than him. “Hmmm…anywhere specific in mind?”

Cerrus looked down at her. “Silversun Strip has a nice fish place.” He stated and Tali giggled. 

“Fish? You like fish?” she asked with an obvious smile. 

“My favorite.” He replied. “You?”

Tali collected the bulky components under her arms and shrugged. “As long as it’s sterilized.” She stated feeling butterflies in her stomach at the idea of going on a date with Cerrus. 

“Next time we’re on the Citadel it’s a date.” He said and found that a bit easier then he remembered. Asking Anara out was nerve-racking as hell. He felt the same nerves here but he wasn’t nearly as babbly as he was then.

Tali was thankful for the mask that hid the rush of blood filling her cheeks. Cerrus was everything she’d ever dreamed of but she sensed that she needed to be cautious with him; he’d been through enough already even though she wasn’t clear on exactly what that was. 

**

While they were down in the tunnels Tali convinced Cerrus to stick around a little longer to see if she could fix the water problem the colony was having. The tunnels weren’t safe or secure or even really stable and Cerrus didn’t want to be down there, and even Tali didn’t want to be down there but she felt completely safe with Cerrus standing guard as she rummaged around the networks of water lines. 

Tali sifted through the dirt and rubble trying to access the ancient water line setup by the Protheans over 50,000 years ago. The colonists had figured a way to tap into the intricate system to pump water from Feros’ poles but it was old so at some point during the fighting it got switched off, damaged, or just simply malfunctioned. Now, once again she was down in the dirt trying to sort out the problem. 

Cerrus kept a watchful eye as the tunnels officially creeped him out. Too many things could go wrong down here, too many ambush sites. His watchful eyes were hidden under the guise of casually leaning against the wall like nothing was wrong.

“This is ingenious really.” Tali stated. “The Protheans created such a sophisticated aqueduct system it can draw water from the poles to anywhere on the planet. The fact that it still works is amazing.” She added but when she heard nothing from him she stopped talking about her fascination with the system. “Sorry.” She said quietly looking up at him. 

Cerrus looked down at her sharply not sure why she apologized. “Sorry about what?” he asked and she felt a little nervous at the idea that he tuned her techno babbling out. 

“If I’m boring you.” She replied.

Cerrus shook his head. “No. No. You’re fine. I just don’t see what’s so damn fabulous about a dead race.” 

That was a common sentiment. “Hmm… I think it’s amazing. If their tech can still function thousands of years later there’s hope for us.” She said and Cerrus said nothing but understood her point. The Quarians got a bad rap among the galactic community. They created a true marvel but were on the wrong side of it when it backfired. It was bad enough that they were driven from their planet, the only planet that can adequately support their biology, but they were considered the trash of the galaxy. It wasn’t fair. 

A heavy clunk brought Cerrus off his train of thought as Tali finished working her magic on the water pump. It hummed to life and once more the little Quarian impressed the hell out of him. “There…it’s working…until someone breaks it again.” She said and Cerrus snorted. 

“You are impressive, do you know that?” he stated but his tone wasn’t sexual and he didn’t even mean it that way. “I thought Cal was impressive when it came to this stuff.”

Tali smiled and shrugged. “From what I’ve heard maybe he is.” She replied and collected the power cell and components from the APC again. 

Cerrus shrugged a maybe. “At least you’re better looking though.” He said out loud and slammed his eyes shut with a sigh in response to his own blatantly forward comment that just slipped out. “What do you say we get back to the creepy and strange human colony?”Cerrus stated quickly, barreling past any reaction she may have had to his words.

Tali snorted shaking her head. “You really don’t like humans.” She commented. She’d heard his compliment but it didn’t take a genius to realize that Cerrus wasn’t entirely comfortable with flirting so she didn’t press him on it. 

That was true but it wasn’t the reason he said that. “It’s not that…just something doesn’t feel right.” He felt a wave of relief hit him as she either didn’t hear his blurted compliment or was kind enough not to twist him further.

She understood his concern and moved past him. “Thank you for the compliment, by the way, it’s nice to know I’m better looking than Nov.” she stated and Cerrus dropped his head sharply.

“Yep, she heard it.” He thought to himself and followed her out. 

**

On the way back through the tunnels Cerrus paused as his keen eyesight noticed someone at the far end of the corridor beside what Tali called the ‘maintenance access’ tunnel. 

“He wasn’t there before.” Tali stated and Cerrus focused on him but he grunted a response. 

Cerrus’ suspicious guard went up since this person wasn’t there on the way in. He didn’t like it. “Get behind me.” He stated and Tali didn’t argue.

Cerrus moved at a steady pace closer to the man that obviously saw them both coming. He made no attempt to run or attack. His behavior was erratic though, he paced and rubbed his head a few times but aside from that there was nothing overly threatening about him. 

“Are you okay?” Cerrus asked but his tone wasn’t warm and concerned. It was merely a question that was required of him to ask. 

“You’re not from the colony…never thought I’d see a Turian and a Quarian here.” He stated looking Cerrus and Tali up and down. 

“What’s your name?” Tali asked looking him up and down as she moved next to Cerrus.

“Ian. Ian Newstead.” He stated seeming nice and not a threat but Cerrus didn’t trust him, he didn’t trust anyone really, but for a guy alone in the tunnels away from the rest of the colony in the middle of a Geth siege acting odd…. trust was not the first thing Cerrus thought of. 

“What are you doing down here?” Cerrus asked, not interested in beating around the bush. “Shouldn’t you be up with the colony?”

“You don’t want to be down here. Trust me.” He stated and Cerrus leveled a suspicious gaze to him. 

“We have weapons, you don’t, why are you down here?” Cerrus asked again as his tone got a little more aggressive. 

“You think the colony’s safer?” he asked and then screamed in pain as his right hand went to his head. Cerrus put his left hand on Tali’s shoulder and pulled her back away from him. Ian doubled over in pain and screamed loudly like he was trying to fight off familiar pain. He started to laugh as the pain subsided. “Oh, that was a good one…very firm.”

Tali narrowed her eyes behind her mask and then looked over to Cerrus for a second. “What’s wrong with you?” she asked and Ian righted himself. 

“Just incurring the master’s whip.” Ian replied and Cerrus eyed him, even more suspicious now. The way he worded that was worrisome. 

“What master?” Cerrus asked quietly, the suspicion in his voice was readily apparent. 

“The Geth are a thorn in the side of-…” he began and screamed again but longer this time. Cerrus was trying to figure him out. “It’s like running through a thorn bush…” he struggled. “the harder you fight the-…AHHH!” 

Cerrus was observing, contrary to popular belief he wasn’t just a superior soldier, he was very good at observing behavior. He had a knack for understanding behavior both Turian and alien. That was one reason why he was so good at figuring out when an attack was coming and when someone was lying out their ass. This man was exhibiting behavior that made him nervous and it also gave him insight into why this colony felt so strange. 

“Tell us what’s wrong.” Tali stated feeling helpless and wanting to do something for the man in obvious agony. “We can help you.” 

“Talk to Fai Dan…” he replied and screamed again then laughed maniacally to ease the pain. “don’t trust them though…the master-…” Ian screamed louder and dropped to one knee. He grabbed his temples with both hands and screamed louder just before collapsing to the floor with blood draining from his nose. 

Tali looked at Cerrus whose confused expression mirrored her own and she moved next to the collapsed figure activating her Omni-tool to examine him. “He’s dead.” She said after a minute. “What was that all about?”

Cerrus began to figure this out; Ian exhibited the behavior of extreme psychosis mixed with a little mind control. “We gotta go.”

After speaking, or rather listening, to Ian Cerrus finally realized just what wasn’t right. They seemed like they were being controlled by something and if that was the case it didn’t bode well for the outnumbered members of Sidda’s secondary ground team. 

“Shepard, do you copy?” he asked but received the same dead air as he had before. After a few more calls there was still nothing. “Joker, do you copy?”

“Go ahead, Captain.” Joker replied. 

“Raise Shepard if you can, we might have a problem in Zhu’s Hope….we’re on our way back up. Lock down the Normandy and do it discreetly and quietly.”

**

Cerrus quietly called the team together doing his best not to look even more suspicious then a single Turian in an all human colony already did. 

“I think these people are being controlled.” Cerrus stated quietly as they were doing their best to stand far from the colonists. 

“Controlled by what?” Ashley asked in a tone that was almost a sneer. 

“See, that, I don’t know yet.” He stated.

“Then how do you know?”

“Because Tali and I just had a very strange conversation with a colonist down in the tunnels.” He said trying to stifle his irritation with Ashley. “These people are definitely being controlled by something…I can feel it.”

Ashley rolled her eyes but Kaidan spoke up next. “So what are you thinking, Captain?” he asked. He didn’t care that he answered to a Turian, Cerrus knew what he was doing, he wasn’t friendly about it but he knew his job. 

“I’m thinking we need to incapacitate these people.” He replied but aside from kicking the crap out of everyone he didn’t know any other way. “Quickly.”

“A medium setting on neural shock should knock them out without hurting anyone.” Kaidan suggested.

“A stasis field could work too.” Liara added.

“Okay,” he said with a nod. “Neural Shock and Stasis it is then. Force is a last resort, I don’t want to hurt them but do it if you have to.”

“Hold on. You’re not even sure. You just want to attack these peop-…” Ashley began but felt his big left hand on her upper chest as he sharply pushed her back into the piping she was standing in front of. 

“I am tired of this, Chief.” Cerrus growled trying to keep his temper in check and not give too much indication that there was a problem to the outside observer. “Do as you are told. Incapacitate them…I don’t want to be overwhelmed if I’m right about this.” 

Kaidan didn’t want to land on the negative side of this but the question begged to be asked. “What if you are wrong?” he asked but unlike Ashley, Kaidan’s tone was a respectful question. 

Cerrus released Ashley but his ire but was still frustrated with her. At least Sidda knew how to listen and in the end they managed to put aside their differences and work together. “Then Shepard will probably kill me and the rest of you have nothing to worry about.”

Kaidan and Cerrus made an efficient team, to avoid the Omni-tool cooldown they alternated. Cerrus didn’t want to hurt anyone especially since their behavior wasn’t their fault.   
They were going for a quick surprise attack but the damn Salarian merchant let the cat out of the bag and they had a minor skirmish on their hands now. 

“Fai Dan, don’t do it!” Cerrus shouted leveling his rifle to Fai Dan. 

“Drop the weapon.” Kaidan added also aiming his pistol at him. 

“I can’t.” he struggled. “The Master says…”

Cerrus saw this going badly. “Don’t think about the master, Fai Dan, fight it. Drop the weapon.”

Fai Dan’s hands shook violently as he aimed the gun at the struggling man. “I’m sorry…we didn’t know.”

“Don’t raise that arm.” Cerrus warned as he saw Fai Dan’s right arm start to come up. He wasn’t going to risk his life or Kaidan’s and would shoot him if he had to. 

“Fai Dan, drop the gun.” Kaidan stated again having the same thought that Cerrus had but Fai Dan didn’t heed the warning from either of them. 

“I’m sorry.” He said again and aimed the gun in one swift motion at Cerrus.

Kaidan squeezed the trigger and sent around into Fai Dan’s head. Cerrus glanced over to the Lieutenant impressed with him. “Damn it.” He cursed quietly and Cerrus made his way over to Fai Dan’s body. 

“Nice shot, Alenko.” He stated but his compliment rang hollow for the biotic. He didn’t like killing and especially since Fai Dan really didn’t deserve it. 

“Yeah…” Kaidan replied and turned away from Cerrus and Fai Dan’s body before returning back the way they came to see if the others needed help. 

Sidda surveyed the minor damage to the Zhu’s Hope compound as she, Garrus, and Wrex ventured back from their trip across the Skyway. Dr. Baynum and her daughter were the last in as Sidda noticed the remaining colonists bound and unconscious on the floor in the center of the compound. She narrowed her eyes to the idea that Cerrus figured out they were being controlled by the Thorian and took obvious action. Liara and Kaidan were busy making sure everyone was still breathing but it appeared the less lethal approach worked. 

Her eyes found Cerrus leaning against the crane console with the best ‘too cool for school’ expression and body language she had ever seen. 

“So I take it you found the problem.” She asked and heard a slight snort from him. 

The Turians arms remained folded across his chest as Tali worked on the crane to move the wrecked ship. “I found something.” He replied. “Ran into someone who was a little…off in the tunnels and his behavior suggested that someone or something had control over people.”

Sidda nodded and looked around more than a little surprised with the soldiers powers of deduction. “How many dead?”

“Fai Dan.” He replied with a sigh. “He didn’t give us much choice. No reason to kill the rest once they were unconscious.”

“Well done, Cerrus, I’m impressed.” Sidda stated and really was impressed with the anti-human Turians restraint of late. 

“That’s not to say that some aren’t injured…a few resisted…heavily.” He added glancing to Kaidan who was tending to Arcelia. 

Sidda’s attention shifted to what Tali was doing. “Dr. Baynum says the creature is under the colony.”

“I figure that they were defending this for a reason.” Tali stated.

“You’re right,” Julia stated. “they put the ship over the entrance to protect it.”

“How can a damn plant do this to people?” Sidda asked and the simple answer was: it was sentient. 

“The Thorian is an ancient creature…Saren wants it for something, Commander.” Baynum stated and Sidda grumbled to the ‘no shit, Sherlock’ comment. 

“Alright, Garrus, Wrex…lets go see what the deal is with this thing.” Sidda stated and the trio disappeared down the access tunnel leading to the underbelly of the colony. 

**

Fifteen minutes had passed since Sidda embarked on her search for the Thorian, Cerrus was right, something was controlling the colonists but he never thought of a damn plant being responsible. He got the full low down while listening to Baynum talk to Liara about it all and it was enough to make his head spin, too much science…he was never good with science. Zhu’s Hope was relatively quiet even with a few colonists stirring from their impromptu sleep. Cerrus eyed Kaidan as the medic tended to Arcelia. They both missed with neural shock and the feisty woman went after Cerrus with a vengeance causing Cerrus to put render her unconscious with a solid hit from his Crossfire. Kaidan had stepped up and did what needed to be done in putting down Fai Dan. Cerrus would have pulled the trigger just as quickly but Kaidan beat him to the punch. 

The peace was interrupted by Sidda all but demanding help in taking care of a damn plant, sounding more like a shriek then a calm request. Not only did she ask for more help but also extra firepower in the form of industrial strength ‘Round Up’. While the joke was lost on Cerrus, Kaidan laughed for about 5 minutes and informed his fearless leader in no uncertain terms that the pesticide wasn’t in the Normandy’s armory. Cerrus and Kaidan leapt to the task and left the rest to keep watch on the colony. 

All laughing ceased when Kaidan and Cerrus found an enormous, damn near Normandy sized sentient plant had indeed taken up residence beneath the colony’s heart. Kaidan’s eloquent ‘Holy Shit’ was followed up by Cerrus’ favorite curse word of ‘Fuck’ as the fighting commenced. The plan to kill the Thorian boiled down to the basic ‘drop it from a great height’ by destroying the arms that anchored it in place and let it fall down into the endless pit below. 

So the simple plan of find the arms and blow them up was hindered by a green Asari clone, apparently. Cerrus had never seen or heard of a green Asari…too bad Nov wasn’t here he’d probably try to charm her into submission. The other hindrance came in the form of creatures that looked like Husks but worse. When they got within melee range the creatures disgustingly vomited out toxic green goo that Kaidan took right in the face not once but twice. Twice he got hit by the stuff but he kept going. The biotic was tough; Cerrus admitted that, tougher than anyone gave him credit for. Disoriented and vomiting up the goop that got into his mouth he nearly shot Cerrus in the confusion but instead of Cerrus being pissed he grabbed him by his armor and helped steady him. 

By the time the Thorian fell into the abyss Kaidan could barely walk, he was so disoriented and dry heaving from the idea of the stuff being on him and in his mouth. Wrex was covered in the stuff too but the Krogan was immune to its toxicity. Cerrus had some on the right side of his face but managed to skitter away when Kaidan got hit the first time. The only ones that were clean, to a point, were Sidda and Cerrus. Sidda had the clone’s blood on her from the up close kill that she’d used to blow her head off. 

“Kaidan, are you okay?” she asked as the medic’s hands shook violently as he rummaged through his kit to find the toxin neutralizer that did a good job of stemming most any toxin. 

Not in the slightest. “Yeah.” He managed in a lie finally finding what he needed to help fix the problem. He hit the button on the end of the pencil sized tube and a long big gage needle appeared. With a growl of pain, disgust, and a stifled dry heave he slammed the needle into his left thigh through the flex part of his armor. 

A disgusting sound from the far wall was heard drawing Garrus’ attention. “Hey, Sid…” he began and gestured to the ‘birth’ of what they thought was another damn clone.   
“Jesus Christ, not another one.” She cursed as the sac dropped an Asari with deep purple skin. 

“I’m not gonna be able to sleep for a week, Commander.” Garrus stated obviously disgusted by what he’s witnessed. 

“Kinda reminds me of Krogan births.” Wrex stated as the Asari stretched out to her full height. 

Garrus groaned. “Yeah, I really didn’t need to know that.”

As the Asari moved closer to them Sidda raised her rifle. “That’s close enough.” She stated. “What are you?”

“Please, I mean you no harm.” She stated. “My name is Shiala…thank you for freeing me from the Thorian.”

“You look like the clone.” Sidda questioned as Cerrus took up a defensive position behind Sidda and in front of the still disoriented Kaidan. 

“I was given to the Thorian as compensation for what Saren was looking for.” She stated and Sidda allowed herself to lower her weapons knowing that the others with her would cover her well enough. 

“What did he want?” Sidda inquired.

“A cipher…a way to comprehend the information received from an ancient Prothean beacon.” She explained and Sidda studied her trying to figure out if she was lying. “The Thorian is an ancient creature, it’s been around for several millennia it sends its spores out to learn and do its bidding and in doing so it absorbed the mind of a Prothean.”

“That’s what Saren wants with it…” Cerrus stated from behind. “the cipher to translate what’s in his head.”

“And he left you here?” she asked. 

Shiala nodded. “The Thorian gave me the cipher and I gave it to Saren but once he was finished with me he gave me to the creature to do with what it will.” She stated. “A clone to work and extend the reach.”

“Can you give me the cipher?” Sidda asked and Garrus’ head snapped toward her.

“Commander, no.” he stated and Sidda waved him off. 

“I have the same information Saren does…but I don’t understand it.” She stated and Cerrus shook his head not liking the idea of trusting her at all. 

“I could.” Shiala stated and that’s when Cerrus had to chime in. 

“Why are you helping? You worked for Saren and he left you here. Who’s to say it’s not a trap to kill us?” Cerrus questioned his tone harsh toward the Asari. 

“I followed my mistress, Matriarch Benezia…I was sent with Saren to aid in his search for the Thorian. I never thought Saren would freely, carelessly pass me off after I’d outlived my usefulness.” Shiala explained. “Saren has a way of getting people to bend to his will; his ship Sovereign is eerie in that it speaks to you…changes you.”

Sidda had made her decision. “Give me the cipher.” She stated and the boys didn’t like that, not even Wrex. 

“Commander, no.” Cerrus stated. “She could kill you or hurt you.”

“I can’t do this without it.” She replied her tone indicating that her mind was made up. “Do it.”

Cerrus readied his pistol, he didn’t care what Sidda said if it seemed that she was in danger he’d take that damned Asari’s head off. He felt helpless, all of them did, there wasn’t anything to do when Sidda again ‘embraced eternity’ with an Asari to scramble her mind yet again. Her body went rigid as Kaidan finally made his way to his feet well enough to observe what was happening, it reminded him of the first time they encountered the beacon on Eden Prime. It wasn’t a pleasant exchange if the grunts and pained noises from Sidda were anything to go by.

Cerrus gripped his Brawler tighter unsure of what to do. He knew damn well that if she was hurt by something he could have prevented Victus would mount his head on a spike in the CIC. That being said he felt helpless to what he was witnessing. Strangling his pistol grip as Sidda let out a scream and collapsed to the ground unconscious, his ire turned to the Asari he did not trust. 

“It’s done.” She stated breathing hard for doing nothing at all. 

“She’s alive.” Garrus stated as Kaidan slowly moved to do his job. 

Cerrus quickly examined the situation and found the only thing that rubbed him the wrong way was the Asari. She couldn’t be trusted, an agent of Saren and or Benezia and he wasn’t about to leave her to roam the colony, they had enough to worry about if what Baynum said about Exogeni was true. He went with his instincts and fired a shot to her head killing her instantly. It was sudden enough even Wrex jumped and Garrus needed to plucked off the ceiling. 

“What the hell!?” Garrus exclaimed. “What’d you do that for?”

Cerrus eyed him, surprised at his fellow Turian, for a Cop he was certain Garrus had better sense than that. “Please tell me you didn’t trust her, C-Sec.” he stated and Garrus glowered at him. He still had a sense of duty to him and just capping off people wasn’t something he had gotten used to just yet. 

“Could have warned us…” Wrex muttered. “my ears are ringing now.” He stated without an opinion of what Cerrus just did. He was thinking about it too but the Turian beat him to it.

“Let’s get her back to the Normandy.” Kaidan said and was starting to feel a little better himself but still felt as sick as he’d ever been. He found a new planet he absolutely hated. “I’ve had enough of this planet.” He stated hearing various members snort their agreement. He regretted that he couldn’t be the one who gallantly carried Sidda back to the ship, again, this time it was Garrus…and if he wasn’t careful someone was gonna have to carry him. He wanted to sleep for a week trying to get all that shit out of his system.


	26. Ripple Effect

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Twenty Six: Ripple Effect

These images were clearer now, they made more sense. It was horrifying and intense as the cipher not only translated the images but all the emotions that went with it. They were tied into the strong emotions and overwhelming guilt and responsibility she felt for Nihlus’ murder. She saw it all, the butchery of the Prothean race, the dark shadow that was the Reapers, the menacing feeling of dread that left a dark empty hole in the pit of her stomach. It was a nightmare, the flashes, the images in a wash of red and black. She saw the pain and suffering of the entire galaxy all run together in a confusing flurry of horror. 

She heard a voice, through the red and screams of a dying galaxy. It was familiar, a gentle male voice colored with concern. “Shepard. Shepard, wake up.” The rough voice became clearer, through the madness of her mind as it repeated the order. 

Kaidan hovered over Shepard’s tossing and turning body in the medical bed. “Shepard. Sidda. Wake up.”

Sidda roared to consciousness with a scream, a mix of fear and aggression. All she saw was someone over her but she didn’t register who it was right away. Her biotics flared and she dropped off the bed away from Kaidan. Her chest heaved with heavy, fearful breaths, and Kaidan held out his hands in as non-threatening manner as possible. That was a hell of a nightmare and it was good guess that it had something to do with that damn cipher she was given. The last time she’d had her brain scrambled she was out for 16 hours. This wasn’t quite as long but it was identical to what happened before so far. 

“Shepard, it’s me.” Kaidan stated trying to jar her out of the nightmare she was still in. “it’s Kaidan...” he continued and moved closer to her but kept the bed between them. “You’re back on the Normandy…you’re okay.”

The blue energy around her dissipated and Sidda remembered where she was and what was going on. Kaidan moved around to her as she bent forward pressing her hands against her temples. “Talk about a hangover…” she groaned. “There’s too much stuff in here.”

She felt his hands touch her as he helped her back to the bed. Kaidan had a gentle touch, different from Victus’. It always felt like Victus was tempering his touch so his claws didn’t hurt her. Kaidan’s touch didn’t feel like that, she admitted that she missed the touch of a human male; the soft, warm skin, and a grip that wouldn’t snap her bones like kindling if he put his mind to it. 

Sidda wasn’t alone in the hangover headache; the toxic goo Kaidan got hit with and unfortunately ingested tripped an implant migraine that had debilitated him for hours. He’d only just crawled out of bed when he heard Sidda thrashing around and moaning loudly two beds over. “Yeah I know what you mean.” He said feeling the throb he’d forgotten about while dealing with Sidda returning with full force. She crawled, literally, back onto the bed and rolled onto her back putting her palms back on her temples squeezing her skull to make the headache go away. “That doesn’t work.” He said seeing her trying to squeeze the headache away. 

Sidda cackled lazily closing her eyes. “What the hell happened?” she asked thankful that the lights were dimmed already. 

Kaidan’s brain still throbbed and he sat down on the bunk next to hers. “What’s the last thing you remember?” he asked and took a couple gulps of water from the glass he had next to his bed behind him. “Here, it’ll help.”

Sidda took the half full glass from him and drained it quickly without a second thought that he’d already drunk from it. “The Asari…what’s her name…gave me the cipher.”

“You passed out, we got you back to the Normandy, and the colonists are all fine. Dr. Baynum promised that ExoGeni would look after the colony but I recommend that the Alliance look in on them.” He stated as he felt the headache start to rage again. Sometimes being an L2 really sucked. “Oh and Cerrus killed Shiala.” He added. “The Asari.”

Sidda paused, opening her eyes and risked a look at the Sentinel to her left. Being Human she was still attracted to Humans and being able to see the muscles outlines under Kaidan’s tight shirt. Wow, her hormones were getting the better of her as she looked returned to her previous position of squeezing her temples and hiding behind her eyelids. “Let me guess, ‘she can’t be trusted’?”

“Yep.” He replied as he moved over to get more water taking the glass from her to refill it. 

Sidda brushed that off; Cerrus’ instincts were usually right on about stuff like that. “Well, that’s typical Cerrus.” She said and heard him fill the glasses and returned one to her before crawling back into his own bed waiting for another medication dose from Chakwas. An implant migraine was normal for him although he hadn’t had one in about three months. Feros triggered a bad one and they usually included a night in medical and two doses of a medication called Anaprophol. Specifically developed to treat the awful migraines caused by complications from L2 implants. “How are you? You were covered in the toxic crap.”

Kaidan groaned. “Antitoxins I had and what Chakwas had fixed that but somewhere along the line a migraine flared up.” He said his tone soft and quiet reflecting how he was feeling. 

Sidda gave him and sympatric smile. She was an L3 and didn’t have to worry about the L2 side effects; she did get headaches when she used her abilities nonstop. She had the worst headache in the world after Elysium and it lasted three days but beyond that she had never had a problem with her implant. Talking wasn’t helping either of their headaches so she tapped a button on the wall over her head and turned off all the lights in the bay except for the light over the door. 

**

Several hours passed and Sidda was still crashed on the bed when Kaidan felt good enough to move around and made his way down to the bay to rummage through his locker. He felt the need to move and do something and he wasn’t hungry yet. By all rights he could be but his stomach probably couldn’t handle food right now without giving it back. He found Cerrus and Wrex in the bay and Ashley was nowhere to be found, that was about normal, if Cerrus was in the area Ashley wasn’t. 

“How are you feeling?” Cerrus asked and that surprised him. 

Kaidan paused a moment before stripping off his shirt and putting another one on. “Head still hurts a little but I had to get out of the infirmary.” Cerrus glanced over at him from the weapons he was cleaning off. The biotic sighed itching to do something right now. “You want to spar?” he asked and Cerrus looked over at him sharply a little surprised. “Shepard swears by your training.”

Cerrus scoffed and nodded. “Shepard swore during my training.” He replied and nodded. “Alright, Lieutenant.”

Cerrus didn’t go after Kaidan full bore; he practiced restraint to make sure he was okay. Kaidan was better than he’d expected but nowhere near as aggressive as Cerrus thought he should be. He was a defensive fighter, a lot like Sidda but far more controlled. The sparring went from something to do to a little bit of actual training as Cerrus gave him some pointers to give him an edge. 

“So where are you from?” Kaidan asked as Cerrus pulled him to his feet after knocking him to the ground. “I’m not up to date on the markings.”

“Ramad, Taetrus.” Cerrus answered simply. “You?”

“Vancouver, Canada. Earth.” Kaidan replied as they engaged again in a fast ‘fist fight’ that Cerrus controlled but Kaidan finished. Kaidan blocked each hit and landed several hits that were dialed back in power. He trapped Cerrus’ right arm in his grip and kicked his legs out from under him causing Cerrus to fall face first into the ground. The only reason Cerrus didn’t bust his face on the deck was because he put his left hand down to brace. That was impressive he admitted that. 

Cerrus couldn’t help but grunt feeling the jarring pain from his palm to his shoulder. Kaidan held him there a moment before patting his shoulder and helping him stand back up. “Where’d you learn to fight?” he asked.

“BAaT.” He replied and Cerrus cocked his head.

“BAaT. Why do I know that?” he asked and Kaidan set up for another round. 

“Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training.” He clarified and Cerrus nodded remembering that from his military training. 

“Ahh…right.” Cerrus nodded. “Who was the Commander of that? A mercenary named…ummmm-…”

“Vyrnnus.” Kaidan said his tone a little quieter. “Terrible teacher…thought that hurting his students was a good way to teach. He’s starved us, beat us, and broke a girls arm when she wanted a glass of water…”

Cerrus felt the only twinge of shame he’d ever felt when talking to a human. His people weren’t exactly nice to outsiders but taking it out on kids was over the line, even he wouldn’t do that. He couldn’t imagine a Cabal mercenary training young humans so soon after 314. “You were the one who killed him.” He said and Kaidan nodded a little surprised that Cerrus knew the story. Apparently, what happened at Jump Zero was known among the Turians. “Not a very good first impression was it?”

Kaidan shrugged, he’d come to terms with this long ago and unlike Ashley he preferred to see the good in people not just all the bad. “You guys are human...” he stated and noticed Cerrus visibly sneer to that nearly offended by the term. “for lack of a better term. You guys are heroes and assholes just like us. There’s good ones like Garrus and bad ones like Saren.” He said and Cerrus looked away from him. The human’s capacity for understanding and forgiveness was amazing, after everything Vyrnnus did to him he still forgave him. Cerrus didn’t have that capacity. 

“And I’m somewhere in the middle.” He stated in a kindhearted joke that made Kaidan snort. 

“Nah, Cap, you’re one of the good ones.” He said and Cerrus couldn’t believe it…he made a human friend. He liked Kaidan, he wasn’t like other Humans. “A little rough but still a good one.”  
Cerrus stepped toward him and extended his right hand to him. Kaidan narrowed his eyes to the gesture and it was obviously a handshake. When they met Cerrus was cold and prickly, a head nod was their introduction basically. Kaidan took his hand in a firm and respectful handshake. “Call me Tyr.” He said and Kaidan felt a smile tug at his mouth. He made a friend. Not only did he make a friend, he made a friend with the biggest asshole on the ship. A badge of honor Cerrus carried proudly. 

**

Sidda’s head finally stopped pounding the next day after letting Liara kick her feet around in her head to help make sense of what the cipher had unlocked. Yes, Sidda now understood what all those horrifying images meant but it didn’t get her any closer to figuring out where the Conduit was, what it was, or why Saren was so hot for it. Liara didn’t get much but a head spinning understanding of how the Protheans were really destroyed. Poor Anthropologists’ entire academic understanding of galactic history was turned on its ear but that was about it for the fourth time her brain went through the spin cycle. 

Now she was starving, she didn’t feel much like eating after she was released from medical and ran a few errands, so to speak, now she felt like she could eat the ship and still not be satisfied. She headed into the Mess Hall and found a curious sight that made her stop in her tracks. 

“So does that stuff come off? Or do you paint it on every morning?” Kaidan asked Cerrus as he sat across from the Turian digging into something that was jokingly called Salisbury steak and she couldn’t even guess what Cerrus was eating. 

Cerrus nodded before swallowing the mouthful of food. “It’s a semi-permanent paint that can only come off with a certain compound.” He stated and Sidda brow furrowed deeply. Where the hell was she? “Once it’s on it stays there until I take it off.”

Kaidan noticed Sidda looking at them with a confused expression on her face. “Something wrong, Commander?” he asked and Cerrus didn’t even bother to glance up at her. 

Sidda’s mouth worked but no words came out for a moment as she realized that these two were actually bonding. Cerrus was bonding with someone other than another damn Turian. Kaidan was Human…Cerrus was having a civil conversation with a human. “Twilight Zone.” she replied finally and Kaidan chuckled, understanding her confusion. “Out of everyone on this ship you could buddy up with you choose Kaidan?” she asked and Kaidan took that as an insult. 

“Hey!” he scolded lightly, understanding how to handle being teased. 

“No offense.” She added and Kaidan flashed a smile telling her that he really wasn’t offended.

“It’s not really a choice, Commander; it’s more of a lack of options.” Cerrus stated and Kaidan scoffed at the comment.

“Thanks for that.” He stated taking a drink from the bottle but still wasn’t offended. 

“Let’s break it down…so both of you understand. There’s the crew that still doesn’t know what to do with me or Garrus, there’s Dr. Chakwas who seems nice but I only talk to her when she’s patching me up, a mouthy pilot that I’d much rather escort to the airlock, you and we both know how that usually goes, and then there’s the Chief…who is worse than you and I didn’t think that was possible.” Cerrus explained, and Sidda moved to the refrigerator and came up with a bottle of water twisting of the cap.

“So that leaves you with Kaidan?”

“He’s good at his job, he does what he’s told, he doesn’t fight with me for the sheer sport of it, and he’s the only one on this ship I can have an intelligent conversation about Biotiball and Clawball with.” Cerrus continued and Sidda narrowed her expression further to Kaidan. 

“Clawball, seriously?” she asked and the biotic shrugged in defense. 

“What? It’s fun to watch.” He defended and Sidda chuckled, seeing Cerrus friends with a Human was a galactic brain builder and almost unsettling but Sidda gave props to him. At least he wasn’t pummeling everyone who looked at him wrong. 

She chuckled and set the bottle down on the table and then started hunting for something to eat. “When you two are done bonding, Cerrus, I want you and Ashley to inventory all the weapons, mods, and ammo mods we have so I know what I need to get from Spectre Recs.” Cerrus wasn’t thrilled with the idea of doing that with Ashley but nodded sharply.   
With her food collected she went into her quarters and summoned Garrus, after she emerged from Medical she got a debriefing from Pressley. The Navigator wasn’t happy about Garrus taking the lead and informing the Council about what happened on Feros but it wasn’t exactly like the rest of the crew was stumbling over themselves to do so. Garrus was a cop and was familiar with the Council so he knew how to be informative and diplomatic to a point while giving them enough information to keep them satisfied. 

Garrus didn’t know how to stand in her quarters, so informal, not what he was used to. Sidda was seated and scarfing down the last bits of food on her plate immediately feeling better. He saw a few Turian trinkets and narrowed his expression to it cocking his head as he drew closer to them. One of them was an old replica carving of the ancient Spirit of Valor. That was a strange thing to see, his people generally believed that the spirits weren’t deities like Asari and Humans believed. This was a replica of a relic from a very long time ago. 

Sidda saw him looking but not touching and slipped into the typical response when she saw someone looking at it. “Spirit of Valor.” She stated as it didn’t dawn on her that he probably already knew what it was.

Garrus blinked and turned to her. “Yes, Commander, I know that.” He stated as he could see she realized her error but he didn’t sound offended. 

“Adrien gave it to me.” She said with a smile as she remembered the day he gave her that gift.   
Garrus nodded and knew her reputation, after Elysium he could understand why Victus would see her as a Spirit of Valor or at the very least bring one to his ship. “You asked me here, Commander.”  
Sidda nodded. “Pressley said you talked to the Council on my behalf.”

Garrus nodded and stood with his hands behind his back, no matter how long he’d been out of the military he still couldn’t shake the posture. “I did. With you and Alenko indisposed I took the liberty of briefing the Council when they called.” He stated and Sidda looked him up and down, like most Turians she’d met, they were men of action and she respected that. 

“What’d they say?” she asked and leaned back on the couch propping her feet up on the table. 

“They were their usual grating and condescending selves.” He stated. “They weren’t too happy about you killing the Thorian and wrecking ExoGeni’s research to save a human colony. Then I reminded them that a Turian saved the colony…not you.” He explained and seemed to relax a little as her posture remained so informal with him. “Should have seen them squirm.”

She chuckled quietly wishing she was there to see them put their respective feet in their mouths. “They say anything else?” she asked. 

Garrus shook his head. “Pushing for results and berating your choices.” He said and she chuckled. She liked Garrus, she really liked Garrus, he made her laugh and wasn’t bad to look at.

She sighed heavily rubbing her head. “Thanks for taking the initiative, Garrus.” She said with a smile, despite all the ‘sleep’ she’d had she was still tired. 

Garrus gave her a nod that she knew meant ‘you’re welcome’ in Turian. “How are you doing?”

“Tired.” She answered honestly as she could see him studying her. “Liara’s chasing down some leads she got after running through my brain. All I see is death and destruction.”

“Don’t wear yourself out, Shepard.” He stated and she smiled to him. “Get some rest…we can’t do this without you.” He said and she offered him a smile that said it all, a big thank you, as he walked out of her quarters and left her to sleep. 

**

There was dead silence between Cerrus and Ashley as they conducted their task given to them by Sidda. In Cerrus’ mind he’d made the conscious effort to be civil with people, talking with Kaidan and actually bonding with him compelled Cerrus to try to be a little more patient and civil with the Chief. This could be a good thing or it could be a miserable failure. 

“So where are you from, Chief?” he asked copying Kaidan’s broach from before. 

Ashley was less then receptive to his question. “What do you care?”

Cerrus grumbled to himself and shook his head. Apparently Kaidan’s evolved sensibility was unique to him. He didn’t know what Ashley’s issue was but it couldn’t be worse than Kaidan and Vyrnnus. “Fine.” He replied. 

Ashley huffed also and grumbled to herself, she knew what he was attempting but that didn’t mean she liked him. “Sirona.” She answered bitterly.

He wasn’t even going to pretend to know where that was but decided to try to further the small talk. “Family?” he continued and he heard her grumble again.

“My mom and my sisters.” She answered quickly her tone equally as bitter as before. “Dad died a few years back.” She added and was a little grouchy about the idea that she volunteered that information. “What about your father?” she asked but her tone was less than friendly. 

This was the downside to asking personal questions about someone else’s life. They’d ask him the same in return. So long as he didn’t have to answer any questions about his wife he was generally okay with it. “My father was killed by Humans; Shanxi bastards killed him and desecrated his body.” Cerrus stated and didn’t bother to look at Ashley as he spoke.

Ashley scoffed. “Should have stayed away from the colony then.” She hissed and it was official…this conversation just took a disastrous turn.

“Your people started that conflict…we should have just blew up Shanxi from orbit and been done with it.” He bit back and couldn’t stop his hatred from welling up.

Ashley hit Cerrus with a right hook so hard it knocked Cerrus over the bench and crates causing tools, crates, and equipment to bury him. “You don’t talk about Shanxi that way!” she barked.

Cerrus had to admit that was a hell of a hit but that’s where his admiration ended. He was going to kill that bitch and sprang to his feet launching over the debris with a sustained growl that actually sounded a lot like a roar. The Turian stood inches from her face almost bearing his teeth at her. “Chief, you hit me one more time I’ll rip your spine out!” he roared exercising an unbelievable amount of self-control preventing himself from doing just that.

“My grandfather was the garrison commander on Shanxi.” She snarled and Cerrus didn’t move. If there was one Human colony he knew everything about it was Shanxi, his father died there so he learned everything he could about it including who Gen. Travis Williams was.

Cerrus couldn’t resist, he was gonna kick her ass in a minute anyway. “You mean the one that surrendered?” he asked and caught her right fist as she fired another punch at him. The Turian didn’t even move or flinch, he knew that she was going to do that. Ashley spun her back into him quickly and tossed him over her shoulder as if there was no effort at all. Cerrus hit the ground but recovered quicker then she would have expected and now that fight was on. Cerrus responded to the throw by slugging her hard across the face bloodying her mouth instantly. Ashley shook it off and attacked Cerrus again, now she was able to let loose and kick his ass. It wouldn’t avenge the shit her family had been submitted to but it would sure as hell make her feel better. 

**

The Lante had returned to its mission after deviating to help Sidda blow the hell out of the secret base. After finishing with aiding a Turian passenger liner in distress the frigate returned to its patrol maintaining a presence. They were cruising in on the end of first watch and a typical day in the CIC. Maridus and Victus traded stories and chatted about the new sports rankings that had come out and so on. The day was interrupted by a chorus of alarms coming from the LADAR station. 

“General, multiple LADAR contacts.” The Lante’s sensor officer stated and Victus quickly moved over hovering of his shoulder. “They just appeared…damn near jumped on top of us.

“Identify.” He ordered simply but as soon as the word left his mouth his ship shook violently as the familiar feeling of a mass accelerator weapon hit the hull. 

“Computer says…” there was a pause as he checked it again. “Geth.” He finished sounding more than a little surprised to see the computer spit back the identity as Geth. “One frigate and a about a half a dozen smaller ships, LADAR paints another one as a Terminus Raider.”

“Battle stations.” He ordered. “Weapons, as soon as you get a lock return fire.” 

The ship shook again and again as the Turian vessel had a hard time evading the smaller and far more maneuverable Geth ships. Not all of them were Geth though; one of them was a familiar raider. Those Raiders were a pest, maneuverable, not too powerful but they were generally out fitted with ‘surprises’.

The fight with seven Geth ships was progressing as well as could be expected. The Lante was a brutal war machine armed with a top of the line GUARDIAN weapon system and skinned with the best armor that the military had developed but the Geth had powerful weapons of their own. They too had a GUARDIAN weapon system that was largely similar to their own so when it connected with the dorsal midsection of the Lante it was like they’d been hit by a damn meteor. 

One direct hit caused a power surge through the power conduits over the CIC. “Direct hit to the primary mass accelerator.” Maridus informed. “We’ve been hulled. Damn, that weapon’s powerful.”

Victus grumbled. “Seal it off.” He ordered but Maridus was already on top of that. 

“Done.” He stated. “Mass accelerator is damaged, GUARDIAN is fully functional.”

“Zara, protect our dorsal.” Victus ordered but he felt the subtle movement of the ship beneath his feet telling him his pilot had already done that. “Lock the GUARDIAN on the frigate and fire. Target the engines.”

The Lante’s GUARDIAN beam fired and impacted the Geth frigate with a powerful blast causing a massive explosion and destroying the Geth frigate. “Direct hit. Frigate is destroyed.” Maridus stated and Victus hovered over the LADAR station. 

“Pick your targets, fire when you get a lock.” He said giving his weapons station free will to fire. 

The frigate shook violently knocking Victus and Maridus forward into their consoles. That wasn’t a weapon impact, it was something else. “One of the smaller ships has attached to the hull. They’re starting to cut through.” Maridus stated.

“Location?”

“Deck 6, section 2.”

“Nov, Deck 6, section 2, prepare to repel boarders.” Victus ordered over the comm. 

Nov and the other teams followed their procedure; donning their armor for exactly this sort of thing. With Masso on his right and Ruvvak on his left they lead the other at a trot toward the location. “Copy, we’re on our way.” 

Nov understood that the only reason for the Geth to attack them was because they were looking for Sidda. That made Nov angry; whatever she was doing stirred them up enough to come for a Turian frigate. 

Deck six was half engineering and half flight deck. The Geth were trying to cut into the side of the lower engineering section. “Check your fire. No armor piercing ammo. Squash and concussive rounds only in this room watch the exterior hull.” Nov stated taking up position on right side of the door with Desala and Kalvaris with him and everyone else on the other side. He activated his Omni-tool and opened the door after making sure everyone had their helmets on.

The Geth were efficient, they burned through the hull quickly and cleanly and probably expected to be met with resistance on the other side. As soon as Nov entered he immediately lined up on a Geth and put a round through its light making the trooper drop. The firefight commenced as more Geth poured through the breach and onto the Lante. If the Geth managed to get past them it would be tough to stop them before they made it to engineering. 

It wasn’t a big room and the Turian sized troopers were easy to handle in CQB or hand to hand but the Geth weren’t as concerned about checking fire as the Turians were. They may have been using plasma but that didn’t save maintenance panels that were hit instead of any Turian. One exploded next to Kalvaris and he praised the Spirits that he had his helmet on. That burn would have hurt. 

The room shook from a massive plasma blast from a Geth Destroyer, one of the big ones, the hulking death machine missed its intended target of Masso, and the blast spread into the interior bulkhead behind. Nov turned and sent a tech power into the machine hoping his sabotage would eliminate the weapon before it blew a hole into the room or an important conduit. The tech did its job and locked up the Destroyer’s weapon causing it to backfire. Nov fired at it and narrowly backed away from the mech’s powerful swing. The flurry of biotics, tech powers, and gunfire was exhaustingly confusing but Ruvvak managed to throw two grenades into the ship they were coming from. When it exploded the room rocked and fire spewed from the breach in the hull.

A moment later the ship bucked hard like something ran into it knocking nearly everyone off balance. Ruvvak and Nov got knocked into the Destroyer like an unholy threesome and the Sergeant took the opportunity to stick a grenade to its midsection under its torso armor then dove on Nov to get him out of the way. The powerful grenade exploded and took the Destroyer with it. Count that as a win for Ruvvak. The concussive blast was enough to ring every ones bell but thanks to the tac helmets it cushioned the blast a bit. 

The mixed group of team members were breathing hard after repelling the Geth. Ruvvak’s grenades didn’t do much to prevent damage but it sure did halt the boarding party. Nov looked at the shorter Turian and patted his arm as he leaned against the wall a moment. “Well done, Sergeant.”

“Security teams to the airlock.” They heard Victus’ voice bark over the ships intercom. 

Nov wasn’t sure what that was about but they couldn’t leave this mess unattended. “Rek. De. Go.” He said to Desala and Rajin and they were out the door before he finished.   
Sending a Vanguard and a Sentinel would be a big bolster to the ships small security force. He didn’t know why the airlock needed security but he thought it better to safe than sorry. 

**

The Raider was equipped with a ‘forcible entry’ feature at its nose. This was a slaver and pirate modification banned in Citadel space placed on the docking point of the ship that allowed nefarious people to break into a ships airlock quickly. This one was a mistake; the Raider came in too fast after being winged by one of the exploded Geth ships and literally crashed the airlock. It was ugly but it did the job. The Raider hit so hard it caused the Lante to spin wildly for a moment before Ruvio was able to correct it. Within minutes their inner airlock door was hacked and the Lante was boarded. If but for a few moments. A Salarian in dark blue armor seemed to be leading the charge followed by three Geth and a Turian. They didn’t get far before the Lante’s security force, Rajin, and Desala landed on them with both feet. There was quick but violent skirmish but they were no match for the highly seasoned Turian Special Operatives that crewed this vessel.

“Down!” Rajin barked to the Salarian after her overload fired his weapon and brought his shields down as she held him at gunpoint. “Now!”

Desala had used biotics to incapacitate the Turian and slammed him face first into the deck. 

The Salarian eyed his surroundings and slowly got to his knees not taking his eyes off the female Turian whose pistol was shoved in his face. The Geth were swiftly disabled and the Turian was being restrained by another Turian female. 

“Corporal, secure the airlock.” Rajin ordered as the cuffed the Salarian. 

**

The Lante won the skirmish but not without a lot of damage to go with it, she was a top of the line war machine but she wasn’t invincible. The combat blew out several systems including Communications and Navigation, the mass accelerator was damaged because of the hull breach to the dorsal side of the ship, and she had a smashed portside exterior airlock, and hole cut through the side of Deck 6. Not their finest hour but the Turians were standing at the end and not the Geth. 

Victus finally got irritated with the klaxon sounding off telling him that his ship had sustained significant damage in the fight. He already knew that and didn’t need an alarm to tell him that. Nov and the teams had done an admirable job halting the boarding party, he did so well that they never made it past the section they breached but it was war to do so. 

“Damar,” he stated in a loud grouchy tone, “damage? And someone turn that damn alarm off.”

He didn’t have that answer. “Still coming in, that initial GUARDIAN blast nearly ripped us in half.” He stated. “Two hull breaches including where they tried to board. Vellereck’s working on a power damage assessment. Massive damage to the port side airlock though.”

Victus grumbled, with his ship like this he couldn’t get to Sidda to find out if she was okay. He’d have to repair it first or see if he could get a message to her. The klaxon cut out and at least that was one blessing. 

Victus turned his attention to the only organics that they were captured. The party Nov stopped was all Geth and the ship that tried to crash the docking port was led by a Salarian and a Turian. Rajin and Desala stood behind them as both the Salarian and Turian were shoved to their knees. 

“Who sent you?” he demanded. Both on their knees with their hands bound behind their backs, Victus eyed both of them. 

The Salarian had a cold, dead expression and the Turian was a mercenary just by the look of him. He had grey skin and the full skull white colony markings of the Therin Outpost. More assassins and mercenaries had come out that small outpost than anywhere else in the Empire. The Turian was young with a very short crest. The Salarian wouldn’t break, not with that expression, but Salarians were notoriously hard to torture or interrogate effectively. The hyper activity made chemical torture impossible and they were surprisingly resilient to pain. They were tight lipped to his question and he glanced to Maridus then back down to them. 

“Side arm, Lieutenant.” He ordered Desala holding out his right hand and she handed it to him without question. “If you don’t tell me you will not like the end result.” Neither one of them gave any indication of talking nor breaking but Victus didn’t have the patience to deal with this. He wanted answers right now; Sidda could very well be in danger.

When there was no answer Victus quickly shot the Salarian in the head without even blinking and he saw the Turian flinch, surprised. Desala blinked also surprised and glanced to Rajin who didn’t move, clearly this wasn’t the first time Victus’ interrogation went this way. “Do you know who I am?” he asked squatting down in front of him. 

“Adrien Victus.” The Turian answered after a few moments of hesitation. 

“So you know what I’m capable of then…” he said. “you’re gonna tell me exactly what I want to know or…” Maridus, Desala, and Rajin watched as Victus leaned toward his ear and whispered something in the young merc’s right ear. 

Their captive’s eyes widened and he looked to Victus as he rocked back. “The Council outlawed that.” He stated and Victus’ mandibles clicked together. 

Victus glared at him. “I’m going to assume that you were sent by the person who killed a friend of mine and tried to kill the woman I love…do you really think I care about Council sanctions?”

The Merc weighed his options, Victus was a household name in the Turian military and his legendary reputation preceded him. Being threatened by a legend didn’t make him feel very good. “Saren.” He said quietly. “I work for Saren…Saren tracked the destruction of Rothla back to Palaven Intelligence then to you.”

“Desala, Get him to the brig I’ll question him later.” He ordered and looked to Rajin. “You, get to Medical and help Holum.”

Rajin tilted her head to the left seeing blood down the side of his head. “You want me to look at that, Sir?” she asked and he shook his head sharply. 

“Later.” He said and Rajin headed out with a nod as Desala hauled the Turian prisoner to his feet dragging him out of the CIC.

**

Nov still hadn’t stowed his weapon when he was summoned to the CIC. The ship took considerable damage from the attack, more damage than it really should have. He made his way past the repair crews and the Salarian body being removed and heard Maridus barking orders. 

“Holum, casualties?” Victus asked as Holum’s voice replied quickly over the comm. 

“23 wounded 6 critical, no dead.” The Doctor rattled off and Victus praised that at least. 

“Excellent, keep it that way.” Victus replied shortly and cut off the internal line. “Captain.” He acknowledged. 

His tone was one Nov knew well, he wanted a report. “They didn’t get past us…didn’t even get out the section they breached. Whole lot of Geth scraps down there now.” He stated and if Victus hadn’t made the connection he sure did. “It’s Geth…what do you want to bet these guys were after Sid. Are we in range to contact her?” 

Victus let out the all too familiar ‘she’s mine not yours so back off’ growl, frustrated and now very pissed off. “Right now we can’t contact anyone. Comm is down…help fix it.”

Nov didn’t care about overstepping bounds when it came to Sidda. She was in trouble and he knew it but he didn’t argue with Victus instead he put his rifle on the console and dropped down to the communication system and got to work with the officer. 

“Who’s in range?” Victus asked and Maridus narrowed his expression, they just went through this. 

“Of what? A flare?” he asked and felt Victus’ glare sap one year of his life away. “Last I saw it was the Havincaw.” 

“Can we jump?” he asked and returned to glowering at the holographic image of his damaged vessel. 

Maridus shrugged, the last report from Vellereck wasn’t too terrible. “Engines are online. Nav is down though.” He answered effectively shutting down Victus’ next plan. Victus slammed both fists onto the table with a frustrated growl. Sidda could very well be in trouble and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it in a broken ship. 

“Get the systems back online.” He hissed. “Comms first.”

“What about the emergency beacon?” Maridus asked and Victus shook his head. 

“That’ll call everyone too us, good and bad, I don’t want to use that yet.” He said and headed up to the cockpit to see how Ruvio was doing. 

**

“I told you two to inventory the armory, how the fuck did you make the leap from that to beating the hell out of each other?” Sidda snapped as she had both Cerrus and Ashley standing before her in her quarters. They both were smart enough not to try and answer that but Sidda wasn’t satisfied with them. She set her jaw and shook her head to the both of them. “Cerrus, did you start this?”

This would be the one time Cerrus could say with absolute certainty that he didn’t start that fight but he sure as hell finished it. “No.” he answered simply. 

Knowing Cerrus, he probably was lying about that, or at the very least, bending the truth. “Chief, what happened?”

“Permission to speak, Commander?” Ashley asked and Sidda knew she was going to regret it but she nodded. “Ma’am, I told you I wasn’t going to take orders from a Turian.” She snapped and Cerrus shook his head that was the last time he was going to try to get to know a crew member. 

“I didn’t give you an order.” Cerrus muttered sounding annoyed with the Chief, more annoyed with her than he’d ever been by Sidda and she was a pain in the ass. 

“You badmouthed the name of Grandfather, you bastard.” She snapped and thought about turning toward him but decided to stay at parade rest. 

Sidda couldn’t help but remember being in the position with Cerrus in front of Victus, it lead to the huge blow out in the training room that broke her rib and damn near broke his left mandible. Cerrus kept his mouth shut displaying the extreme patience he lost in the Cargo Bay. “Alright, goddamnit, that’s enough.” Sidda snapped now knowing how Victus felt when he had to wrangle her and Cerrus’ spats for a year. “Now I know how Adrien felt.” She stated and Cerrus’ expression didn’t change though the comment was directed at him.

He had a swollen right eye and his left mandible was discolored, there were other obvious signs of a fight but Ashley looked worse than he did telling her that Cerrus controlled the fight. He was injured she knew that but Turians were bloody good at hiding injuries. In regards to Ashley, she looked about like Sidda did after her major fight with Cerrus. She had a long diagonal gash over her right eye where Cerrus had seen fit to bounce her head off the Mako twice, to the Chief’s credit she didn’t back off though. The cut was sealed by Chakwas’ work and her left eye was puffy bruised and swollen as the eye itself was bloodshot, both cheeks and both sides of her jaw were bruised heavily, her mouth was swollen, and the bottom right side of her lip split. She also had a very visible mark on her throat from Cerrus’ massive hands but other than that everyone was upright. “I hear or see or this again, you two so much as touch, and I’ll lock you both up together in a small room and see which one survives.” She’d taken some cues from Victus as Cerrus was certain that he’d heard that particular speech before. 

“Commander,” Joker’s voice interrupted. “message from the Lante, they’ve been attacked.”

Sidda looked at Cerrus whose expression changed slightly with a flicker of worry. “Coordinates?” she asked.

“Yes ma’am.” He replied quickly. 

“Take us to them.” She ordered without a second though. Victus wouldn’t tell her if it were just a scuffle with raiders or pirates. This had something to do with her that she knew. 

**

The Normandy appeared in the sector and made its way to the damaged Turian frigate. After figuring out how to dock with the Lante’s damaged cradle, Sidda and Cerrus went aboard. Cerrus blinked, he hadn’t seen this much damage in years. 

“Jesus Christ.” She cursed as she stepped over repair crews to get to the CIC with Cerrus. “What in the hell caused this much damage?” she asked and Maridus was happy to answer. 

“GUARDIAN blast, two of them. Had to be modified to hull us in one damn hit.” He said and Sidda shook her head in disbelief.

“How many dead?” Cerrus asked.

“None.” Victus answered joining the group and nodding to Sidda maintaining his professionalism. “Surprisingly, given the damage.”

“What happened?” she asked and Victus gave her the abridged version. 

“The Geth, Saren, or whatever figured out we gave you the Rothla information. Guess this was his way of politely telling us to mind our own business.” Victus explained quickly. “We would have told you sooner but we took substantial damage to the Comms and primary systems.”

Sidda was more worried about him but he seemed fine. 

“They crashed our docking cradle and then tried to board us on the engineering level.” A very familiar voice stated as it approached from the right. Nov, still in his armor splattered with Geth fluid with his rifle on his back. From where he came from he seemed to be doing tech work in the CIC. “But they ran into me…I talked them out of it.” He added and Sidda smiled to him. 

“We have a prisoner in the brig if you want to talk to him.” Victus said and she nodded.

“A lot of Geth strewn across the ship…maybe your resident Geth expert could have a look at them.” Nov suggested and Sidda looked over to Cerrus.

“Cerrus, get her on board and also see if they need any repair help.” She said Cerrus gave her a small nod watching Sidda and Victus walk away. 

“I see you two are getting along.” Nov commented then noticed the swollen parts of his face. “Apparently not with everyone.”

“Chief.” He responded simply and Nov chuckled.

“Yeah, I could have guessed that.” He stated and looked him up and down spotting what parts he was favoring. He could see the dark bruising on his left hand and the way he carried his left arm. “How’d it go?”

“I’ll hand it to the Chief…she’s not bad.” He muttered and Nov chuckled. 

“Damar, contact the Havincaw, we’re gonna need help with the repairs.” Victus called over his shoulder. 

**

Sidda had a few memories of the Lante’s brig; she’d spent a little time ‘cooling off’ after the squabble on the deck with Cerrus that damn near broke his left mandible. That was the only time Victus parked her there but what had made it less aggravating was Cerrus in the cell next to her. 

Victus still hadn’t bothered to seal up the gash on his right temple from smacking into the Galaxy Map, so blood had streamed down the said of his face, down his neck, and onto his tunic. Typical Turian, you could chop an arm off and they’d still complete the mission without as much as a peep. 

“You need me to patch that up?” she asked him as he walked on her left. She wasn’t a medic but knew enough about field dressings to do the trick.

He’d forgotten about it, it had been an hour since he sustained the injury. “Hmmm?” he asked confused as to what she was talking about. That was just like him; he did a nasty header into the railing on the Talas Science Station then fell 30 feet but never paused for a break. She pointed to her left temple then to his and he remembered cussing when it happened. “Oh, it’s nothing. I’ll have Rajin or Holum take care of it later.”

“How’d it happen?” she asked falling in behind him to make room for a repair crew with a bulky component. 

It wasn’t glamorous but as of late his injuries rarely were. “Slammed my head into the Galaxy Map when the Raider crashed the airlock.”

“Ouch.” She said with a hiss and moved up next to him. “What is it with you and leading with your head?” 

Victus laughed as he scanned his palm into the brig sensor. “I don’t know.” He chuckled and gestured for her to go first. 

**

Inside the young Turian prisoner was seated on the bunk stripped down to his armors under clothes and bare feet. Seeing a Turian out of armor was still a damned odd sight.   
Typically when they dealt with other races they wore armor 24/7 it was still strange to her to see Victus out of his armor and even worse seeing Cerrus in his casual uniform on the Normandy. He was seated but she judged his height at about average for a Turian and a very short horn crest. 

Victus dropped the barrier and Sidda stepped toward him. “Get on your feet.” Victus growled and the prisoner looked up at him.

He wasn’t afraid to admit it but Victus scared the hell out of him. After seeing him shoot the Salarian and knowing his reputation he’s honestly rather be dead right now. 

“No, it’s okay.” Sidda said and Victus let her run it. Humans were not viewed as a threat by Turians and especially not Human females so she might just get something else from him. “What’s your name?” she asked calmly, trying the velvet touch with him. 

When he didn’t answer Victus spoke up. “You can answer her questions her way or mine my way.” He threatened. “Your choice.”

The Turian swallowed hard. “Dagnus.” He answered quietly with a moment or two of thought. “Dagnus Lucan.”

Sidda nodded and actually sat down next to him. Victus let his mandibles tighten, he didn’t like that and she knew it but with him there she knew that she was perfectly safe. “How old are you?”

Victus guessed not even 20. “18.” Dagnus replied and Victus shrugged internally, tall for 18.

“Do you know who I am?” she asked and the kid nodded, he was nervous, defiantly not a hardened Merc. He was silent for a moment and then answered. 

“What’s the point? I’m dead anyway.” He stated Victus snorted; well at least he was smart enough to know Palaven Command would probably convict him of treason and execute him. 

“Start talking and you might just live to see Palaven.” Victus threatened and Sidda understood her lover was pissed and running out of his legendary patience. 

“Adrien, please.” She said and could see his posture stiffen, not happy about her shutting him down. “I know you were sent by Saren in retaliation for Rothla…what else.” 

Sidda’s nice approach appeared to be working but Victus could tell it was more than that. The kid was scared of him and that pleased him more than it should have. “Saren put a bounty on you through the Shadow Broker…and anyone who helps you.”

Sidda could have figured that, his goons had already tried to kill her on the Citadel. “Where’d you get the Geth?” she continued.

“We were instructed by Saren to pick them up from a system near the Terminus.” He stated. “I don’t know where and Sule, the Salarian, didn’t ask.”

Victus asked the obvious question. “Do you know where he is?” 

“No.” he answered shaking his head. “Try Noveria…he had some kind of business there.” He added. “I don’t know anything else, Commander, I swear.”

Sidda was content with it, if he knew more she was certain that Victus would get it out of him eventually but for now she left the terrified kid be. 

**

Out in the hall she looked up at Victus. “That kids terrified of you, Adrien, what the hell’d you do to him?” she asked with a snort as she walked along with him toward the lift.   
“Remember the Salarian he spoke of?” he asked and she nodded as he went into his explanation. “I shot him right in front of him in the CIC then threatened to literally pull him apart one piece at a time until he told me what I wanted to know.”

Sidda laughed as they approached the lift. “My Adrien,” she smiled looking up at the tall Turian that was all hers. “Scaring the hell out of prisoners everywhere.” 

Victus stepped into the lift with an amused snort as she followed behind standing on his left. “Why was his crest so short?” she asked shifting the topic casually.

“Young.” Victus answered. “At about 20 it starts growing in a lot faster.”

The left door closed and it reminded Sidda of the prime place they always flirted. “Hmmm…what else starts growing after 20?” she asked with a hint of a smile though he wasn’t quite sure why she was flirting with this topic. 

“Crest, mandibles, talons.” He rattled off.

“And all of them are long on you.” She said casually with a flirty smile as she didn’t look at him. “You must be old.” She giggled. He knew that giggle; she was teasing him and flirting with him at the same time. 

Victus turned to her quickly and pushed her into the wall picking her up onto his hips bracing her against the wall. “Old my ass.” He growled and she giggled at his display. This was the only time she was ever eye level with him and not sitting down. She kissed his lips and he dropped his mouth to her neck. She hummed an approval, it was the closest she ever got to a growl but he liked it. He gently nipped at her neck and then switched to the other side to repeat the act. She closed her eyes and smiled moaning softly at his attention while running her hands down his crest and over his carapace. 

Apparently, neither of them realized that not only had the lift stopped but the door had opened as well. Sidda turned a bright shade of red hearing someone clear their throat and Victus quickly lowered her feet to the floor and stopped nibbling on her neck. She could swear the visible skin under his paint turned a darker shade of blue. He was blushing. 

Maridus smirked at the two of them. “I didn’t mean to interrupt, Sir, but your quarters are on Deck 3.” He sniped and earned a silent glare from the General. Sidda found it funny and giggled making Maridus snort.

“Back to work.” Victus barked to the various crew members and techs that paused to witness the PDA in the left. 

**

Nov walked with Cerrus and Tali down to the breached area where Ruvvak and Kalvaris were sifting through the Geth parts to dispose of the threats and keep what might be useful. The room had been secured and that included any depressurization from the hull breach with a mass effect field, and the boarding craft pulled away by Balin in one shuttle then towed back to the loading bay. It was still a bloody mess, scoring marks, bullet holes, and decent explosive damage but nothing overly critical. 

“Wow.” Tali stated to the damage and the number of Geth parts.

Ruvvak looked down and cocked his head, not sure where the hell a Quarian came from but then noticed a rather battered Cerrus behind her. “Who’s the Quarian?” he asked to both Cerrus and Nov rather rudely in Tali’s presence. 

Tali was growing tired of that typical question people asked everyone but her in her presence. “My name is Tali.” She grumbled, annoyed.

“She’s here to do what Quarians do best, examine Geth.” Nov stated as she was already picking through the first Trooper she came to. “Might I suggest the Destroyer, My Dear? Very stout. Excellent year…bit of kick though.”

Cerrus bristled to Nov’s smooth attitude toward anything female and leveled a glare at Nov that he could feel out of the corner of his eye. 

“Damn,” Ruvvak muttered loud enough for the three to hear while looking Tali up and down as she bent over a Geth. “she’s cute.”

Cerrus’ glare was redirected to the demolitionist. “Linus, shut up.”

His tone made Nov’s brow furrow as he cocked his head at Cerrus then glanced to Tali and back again. “Hot damn! He likes her!” he thought to himself and hoped he didn’t say that out loud or he was going to out the airlock same as the disabled Geth parts. 

Tali ignored whatever the boys were chatting about as she examined what was left of the Destroyer. “You guys really kicked the crap out of this thing.” She muttered.

“That’s what we do, My Dear.” Nov said, obviously hearing the comment and earning another vile glare from Cerrus. 

Tali shook her head and looked at the closest Turian, a barefaced one who hadn’t said anything to her yet. “Can you help me turn it over?”

Kalvaris nodded but one Turian wasn’t going to flip a demolished Destroyer over in a timely fashion so he beckoned for the others. Now, four Turians were generally considered overkill but the job got done. She pulled the knife from her ankle sheath and dug around in the machine to pull its memory core. 

“Anything useful?” Cerrus asked squatting down next to her looking over her shoulder. 

“It’s memory core. By the damage it’s probably worthless but I’ll pull the others and see what I find.” She stated and Cerrus nodded. 

“Anything I can do to help?” he asked and she giggled. He was no tech and she knew that. 

“Umm…I’m pretty sure you didn’t attend the technical engineering classes that I did, Tyr.” Nov said and peered down at what Tali was doing. “Can you show me how to remove that?”

Cerrus observed as Tali quickly showed Nov how to pull a memory core and sent him off on his own. She was truly fascinating and beautiful, she knew what she was doing and wasn’t afraid to snap at Ruvvak for being rude. Maybe some of his attitude was rubbing off on her. 

**

By the time everything was collected Tali had six decent memory cores to sift through once she got onto the Normandy. The Lante was the first Turian frigate she’d ever been on and she didn’t mind being surrounded by Turians. They were all actually really nice but she enjoyed the fact that Cerrus never drifted far, like her very own guard Varren. 

Nov trotted after Cerrus as he made his way to his quarters on the Lante. “Hey.” He called catching up to him. “So…” he began with an obvious smirk.

“So what?” Cerrus replied. 

“Oh, don’t play with me.” Nov chuckled as Cerrus increased his pace. “You like her. I mean you really like Tali.” He stated. “What’s not to like really, she’s sweet, smart, cute…fills out that suit-…”

Cerrus stopped suddenly turning to face him. “Do not make me knock you on your ass, Callus.” He threatened and Nov patted his arm. Nov tended to be a little crude but he was never demeaning toward females so a comment like that was meant to get a reaction out of him and it worked. Damn Nov was good.

“You really do like her.” He stated and nodded but also noticed Cerrus wasn’t playing around. “My apologies, Tyr, I didn’t mean to be rude.”

Cerrus was growling a little, he didn’t like Nov talking about Tali like that and it showed as the younger officer ducked his head to submit. With that Cerrus started walking again and Nov quickly chased him down again. “So…how’s my lovely Sidda?” he asked and Cerrus shook his head with a snort.

“Give it up, Cal.” He stated floored that Victus hadn’t eviscerated him yet.

Nov couldn’t do that, he tried but she was an addiction he couldn’t kick. “Never.” He answered.

“You don’t and cross the line, he’ll kill you.” Cerrus said and Nov already knew that. Nov decided to change the subject. 

“So how is it on the Normandy?” he asked as Cerrus opened his quarters. “Kinda like a Sidda role reversal.” 

Cerrus started sifting through his locker pulling items out and tossing them onto the bunk. “Not my first, second, third, or last choice of assignments.” He murmured and Nov cackled as Carrus started stuffing the various items into a bag quickly. He paused and hesitantly took a holo-image of Anara out of his locker. He took a moment to look at it for the millionth time and then put it into the bag as well. “Can you help me get my backup armor onto the Normandy?” he asked and Nov nodded.

Victus was uncomfortable with her going after Saren to begin with but after this bold attack on a Hierarchy ship he was downright worried. “Sidda, please watch yourself.” He said quietly practically pleading it. “He went after us. A Hierarchy ship. A Palaven Fleet ship like he was ordering breakfast. Saren is dangerous.”

Sidda felt him nervously take her right hand in his. “I know. He’s not going to get the drop on me.”

Victus wanted to protest more but thought better of it as she guided his head down to her level giving him a kiss to try to soothe his worry. He relented, but still didn’t want her to go. “I love you.” He said quietly laying is forehead on hers. 

“I love you too.” She replied and reluctantly turned from him heading back to the Normandy.

Cerrus was silent and respectful as he passed his General on the way back onto the Normandy after a second trip spent collecting a few things he thought he might need now. “Tyr.” Victus called as his loaned officer passed by him. 

Cerrus knew what he was going to say and saved him the trouble. “You don’t need to say it, Sir.” He said. “I got her.”

Victus gave him a single nod. That, he trusted. 

**

Tali had been so consumed by the half dozen memory cores she dug out of the Geth she’d lost all track of time and even forgot to eat. Her stomach growled loudly in engineering as she went through the fourth core. Sighing she cursed at it quickly and took a break. It had been hours since the Normandy departed from the Lante leaving it in the care of the PFS Havincaw. 

As she passed through the Cargo Bay heading for the lift she could see Cerrus working on something he’d brought from the Lante. She snorted as she rode the lift up to the Crew Deck certain that the man never slept. It was late so she had no company in the mess hall and didn’t feel like eating alone, not with Cerrus down stairs alone. She took two Dextro rations out and heated them up, they were new rations and hopefully better. These ones came from Victus as a gift for her, Cerrus, and Garrus. They sure smelled better than the cheap ones Sidda grabbed from the Citadel. Both in hand she took them down the Cargo Bay making a reasonable assumption that Cerrus probably hadn’t eaten either. 

Cerrus had brought a few items back from the Turian ship with Victus’ blessing. He raided Ruvvak’s nest of explosives, after a year of being on board Cerrus was surprised at how much demolitions the Sergeant had been able to squirrel away and it actually made him laugh. He also took his Punisher and backup armor. He was focused on the modification he was working on but heard the lift and then smelled the food.

“I’m going to assume you haven’t eaten, Tyr.” Tali said and she’d be right, like her, he’d lost track of time doing that he was doing. He liked the idea that she called him by his first name and looked down at her seeing two ration packs. She offered him one and his expression softened and his mandibles relaxed. Closest anyone could get to a Turian smile. 

“Thanks.” He said kindly and took the plate dropping the tools he had in his other hand onto the bench.

“New armor?” she asked as he leaned on the gun bench digging into the meat and gravy that made him extremely hungry the moment he smelled it. Tali copied his position and began the slower process of putting the food through filters. 

Cerrus shook his head. “It’s for Garrus…if I can get him out of that C-Sec crap.” He stated and Tali chuckled. “How’s it going in there?”

The little Quarian shrugged. “Slow…” she groaned. “They’re so damaged I don’t think I’ll get much from them.” She stated and Cerrus wolfed down the food like he’d been trained to. “I don’t think Nov and the rest were thinking salvage when they destroyed them.”

Cerrus let out a soft chuckle. “Not with the way that room looked.” He agreed and glanced down at her as he placed the empty plate on the bench. “You need a break.” He decided keeping his eyes on her as she kept eating. She looked up at him almost sheepishly. “Why don’t you hang out here with me for a while…I could use the company.”

Tali didn’t mind that but would prefer to get him away from busy work too. “I saw you the other day,” she began as he returned to finishing the upgrade to the armor. “sparring with Kaidan…”

Cerrus looked to her with a slightly puzzled expression. “You want to spar?” he asked and she smiled under the mask. His whole left arm still hurt because of Ashley trying to rip it completely out of its socket from his hand. His hand also still hit after missing the Chief completely and hit the Mako instead. 

“If you’re up to it.” She said with a giggle. “I know a little but could always use some more instruction.” Another smile from Cerrus was obvious but he waited for her to eat. 

When she finished she studied the Punisher that was laid out on the bench waiting patiently for its turn to have Cerrus baby it. She picked it up and found it heavier than she thought it would be, not as heavy as some of the shotguns she’d tried but she couldn’t hold it steady as she aimed it. Cerrus looked over at her stopped what he was doing. 

“You ever used a sniper rifle before?” he asked and Tali lower the heavy weapon shaking her head. 

“No. I’m better with shotguns and pistols.” She replied as he moved around to her gesturing for her to raise it again. She complied as he moved around behind her, his giant frame dwarfing hers. She felt his arms cover both of hers, placing her hands where they needed to be to hold the weapon properly. 

“The key…to a sniper rifle…is how you hold it.” He said as Tali felt his hands on her body. She liked it, a lot actually. “Hold it tight.” He continued standing close enough to her to feel his body on her back. “But gentle.” He purred. Tali’s mind clouded a little as Cerrus’ left hand dropped to a casual place on her waist. “Sight down to your target, take a breath, exhale, and gently squeeze the trigger.” He continued but his purring tone was enough to damn near send Tali over the edge. 

Cerrus felt her arms start to tremble due to the Punishers weight as he lowered his head to her right shoulder taking in a deep whiff of her scent. He would literally kill to get her real scent but he settled for the unique smell of her suit. He reached up with his right hand grabbing the weapon by the barrel taking it from her and setting it upright against the bench but didn’t move from his current position. The sparring could wait, he actually preferred this. He returned his right hand to her but wasn’t forward or rude; he just encircled her tiny waist with both his arms pulling her tight into him. She placed her hands on top of his arms simply enjoying the contact. “I think the sparring can wait.” She said quietly. Those were his thoughts exactly and he chuckled softly remaining in the same position. He’d stay there until she had enough of him. The sparring could definitely wait.


	27. Interstellar Bug Hunt

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Twenty Seven: Interstellar Bug Hunt

 

It had been an eventful week already once Sidda made the decision to head to Noveria to chase down a lead. Two people so far had told her to check out Noveria for a Saren connection so it was high time she went to see what all the fuss was about. 

Right now, however, she was in a gun battle. Another one. She dove to the left for cover behind a stand of boulders and grumbled with Cerrus on her left and Garrus on her right.  
“Remind me again why we’re down here?” Cerrus asked, his tone more than annoyed but not angry. His question was nearly drowned out by a burst from his Crossfire as he crouched down the same as her. 

Sidda’s glower deepened but it was hidden behind her helmet. Of all the times Cerrus could choose to become Nov he picked now. He knew why they were there on this hot volcanic world in the middle of a firefight. “Because I answered a distress call,” she grumbled loudly. 

“Uh huh,” he responded. He was irritated with the situation. He’d told her the call was bogus but she went anyway. Cerrus dropped quickly as a round skipped off the rocks barely missing his face. That was the reason Sidda had dove into cover in the first place. 

Sidda felt sweat pouring out of her skin, to the point she could almost hear her boots squelching from all the moisture pooling at her feet. This planet was hot. A Level 1 heat hazard that left her feeling like she was lasagna in an oven but the Turians were fine. Of course they were fine; they’d evolved on a planet that spent a couple billion years trying to kill them with heat and radiation. Needless to say she was irritated, hot, sweaty, on foot, and under attack…again. The more rounds that whizzed over her head the more irritated she got. “Hey, Vakarian, why don’t you use that sniper rifle for something and ping that bastard,” she snipped.

A simple request would have sufficed but given the situation he complied with the demand without a fuss. As Garrus readied the Spectre sniper rifle given to him by Sidda, Cerrus readied his Punisher. Sidda snorted as she watched the boys compete for marksmanship superiority. 

“Left,” Cerrus announced and Garrus announced that he was taking the right in the same tone. 

“Kaidan, where the hell are you guys?” Sidda barked into the radio wondering where the Mako was that she’d left in their care. 

“We’re on our way, Commander.” Kaidan responded in her ear and Sidda sighed over the bark of the two sniper rifles going off simultaneously. 

“Well, step on it, huh…” she said as Cerrus fired again a cursed. He missed. “It’s getting hot out here.”

“Hang on, Commander, we’re coming.” She heard him say. 

“Fuck.” She heard from Cerrus again as Garrus fire two more times rapidly taking out his target and the one Cerrus missed. He’d gotten rusty the Sniper Rifle apparently or Garrus was just way better than him. 

True to his word, the Mako vaulted over the embankment in grand fashion with Kaidan at the helm and parked right in front of them blocking the enemy fire. It also put the main gun in perfect position to render the mercenary base into rubble with a few well-placed shots as well. Sidda noticed movement on the other side of Cerrus through the borderline heat delirium she was experiencing. She cleared her head, aimed, and fired twice putting her first round through her targets head. She was good with a rifle but put a pistol in her hand and she was lethal in every sense of the word. She fired a second time at the next one and put a round through his head too. While she was focused on the enemy in her sights, no one saw the soldier that flanked them on the other side. 

Garrus yelped as a round burned through his abdomen from right to left and ricocheted off Sidda’s armor into the rocks bringing her shields down. “Garrus!” Sidda shouted spinning in place as the Turian crumpled where he stood. Sidda aimed and fired another headshot with perfect clarity despite the sweat in her eyes. “Cerrus, cover,” she ordered loudly as the hatch for the Mako opened releasing Tali and Ashley. 

Garrus did nothing but growl like any male Turian she’d ever met. It hurt; he was big enough to admit that but used his rifle to stay standing, somewhat. “I’m alright,” he growled out quickly. “I’ll be alright.”

“Cerrus, Ash, cover! Tali help me with him,” Sidda barked and Tali snaked under his left arm as Sidda took his rifle and got under his right heading to the Mako as quickly as possible. 

Cerrus and Ashely piled in behind and Kaidan didn’t need the order to speed away from the hot zone. “Normandy, this is ground team, we need immediate pick up and have Dr. Chakwas standing by…Garrus has been hit,” Kaidan stated and felt awkward, as the team medic, and he was driving. “Ash, take over.”

He and Ashley switched places and he dove into the back pulling various things from his med kit. He wasn’t an expert in Turian medicine but he could pass until they got him to Chakwas. 

**

The Mako landed hard on the Bay ramp bouncing its occupants a little more than Ashley wanted to. Aside from Garrus she was the best driver of that god forsaken tank, no matter how good she thought she was she couldn’t compete with the eyesight and reflexes of a Turian. Garrus was a precise driver…if not a little insane. Ashley was not as precise but she was aggressive, though she didn’t perform the retina detaching moves that Garrus liked to perform while giggling like a maniac. 

Wrex and Liara waited on the deck as the hatch opened watching the occupants file out quickly. Sidda was first followed by Tali then the obviously injured Garrus. Cerrus, Kaidan, and Ashley were the last out respectively. Liara immediately went to Garrus to try to help as Wrex took in the situation. Blood seeped from Garrus’ wound and Tali’s suit was stained with blue. As bad as it looked Garrus assured everyone that it looked worse than it was. 

“Get him to Medical, now,” Sidda barked stripping off her helmet after the bay door closed feeling the cool blast of air on her face. 

“Looks like you had fun,” Wrex commented.

“Oh yeah…” she grumbled sarcastically as Garrus headed out with Liara and Kaidan. The Turian was more irritated with all the fuss then the fact that he’d been shot. “I love answering false distress calls and walking into a damned ambush,” she snapped then looked up at the ceiling. “Joker, get us the hell out of here and set a course for Noveria but don’t execute it yet. Need to regroup and make sure Garrus is okay.”

“And if you receive another distress call, ignore it,” Cerrus piped up and Sidda scoffed in agreement. 

“Sorry, Cap, I don’t take orders from you,” Joker replied with a chuckle. 

Sidda had to agree with her nemesis. “This time, Joker, you do…I’m tired of this. Next time you get a distress call, send it to the Alliance,” she stated as irritated as she could be.

“Copy that, Commander.” 

Getting ambushed again made Sidda grumble like a pissed off Turian, this time it was a slaver and pirate tactic to lure their prey. Military or not, Sidda stumbled into it with gusto. She needed to start listening to Garrus and Ashley and Wrex, and especially Cerrus. Saren is the target. Chase him. 

She cleaned herself up and cut over to the Medical Bay to check on Garrus. He was actually sitting up letting Chakwas tend to the two wounds that transected his abdomen. Turians didn’t have the fleshy parts that Humans hand so it was really hard to miss anything vital with a gunshot. Garrus looked like any other Turian with his shirt off…odd. To a Human the way they looked was odd; to her it was familiar but still odd, skinny arms, a skinny waist and legs but a big chest. The Greyhound look. 

“Doctor,” Sidda announced as she leaned over tending to the exit wound on Garrus’ left side. “how is he?”

Garrus glanced over his shoulder to Sidda as she came into his field of vision. “I’d have to say that Garrus is the luckiest Turian in the galaxy, Commander,” Chakwas stated as she applied another coat of the dextro medigel before covering the wound with a bandage. “One round, straight through, missed his spine by a half an inch and his large intestines by an even closer margin.”

Sidda raised her eyebrows with a smile. “Damn, feel like buying me a lottery ticket?” she asked and Garrus scoffed. 

“I’m not that lucky, Commander, I did get shot,” He responded and Sidda snorted. 

“Are you kidding me?” Sidda asked rhetorically. “You’re like a walking Rabbit’s Foot.”

The Turians brow furrowed, confused. “A what?”

“Old human superstition,” she stated. “Carry the back foot of an animal called a Rabbit with you for luck.” She explained quickly admitting it sounded ridiculous even to most humans. 

“For you or the rest of the Rabbit?” he asked and Sidda chuckled and also had to admit she wasn’t sure how the whole thing got started. 

“I don’t know,” she chuckled. 

“Couple of days of taking it easy and you should be back to 100%, Garrus,” Chakwas finished as she tapped a few things on the pad that was apparently Garrus’ medical file. 

**

The benefit to being in the military on either side was all the extra shots, implants, and various other things to expedite recovery time after an injury. Garrus knew he would heal but it was going to take longer than a few hours. He was sore and discovered that squatting was far less painful and bending at the waist was a mistake. He only did that once. He was ordered to rest but he didn’t like being idle, he preferred to move around. Things need worked on, rifles needed calibrated, the Mako needed to stay maintained. 

Chakwas referred to him as overly stubborn until Sidda kindly reminded her that ALL Turians were stubborn as hell when it came to injuries, emotions, and pretty much life in general. By the next morning Garrus felt better, still sore and tender but he wasn’t going to let that keep him down. He had to work on his armor that now had a new hole in it, two in fact, so he made his way down to the cargo bay where all his gear was stored. Just because he was up and at em didn’t mean he felt 100%. He groaned and he covered the right wound as he walked. Gunshots never felt good. 

“Hey, C-Sec,” Cerrus greeted seeing him approach them. Cerrus had warmed to the C-Sec officer but that didn’t mean they got along. “how you feeling?”

“Like I’ve been shot,” Garrus replied dryly and nodded to Tali politely. 

Cerrus had already offered an alternative to Garrus’ C-Sec blue armor but Garrus had declined, maybe now the stubborn Combat Engineer would see reason. “Put this on. Round won’t penetrate next time.”

Garrus shook his head. “I don’t need it, Captain,” he said firmly and Cerrus’ head cant was one of disbelief and frustrated irritation. 

“Seriously?” he questioned. “Garrus, you were shot yesterday, Shepard’s shields deflected the round after it went through you, now what’s that say about your armor?”

Garrus shook his head and turned from him to find his armor and work on repairing it. “Cerrus, I told you I don’t need it.”

Sidda entered the Cargo Bay only to be greeted by sounds of an argument between their resident Turians. She was pleased with how comfortable Cerrus had become with his current TAD. She’d observed him warming up to Tali and more shockingly Kaidan.

“I told you that C-Sec crap was going to get you killed,” Cerrus stated firmly as Garrus stubbornly ignored him. 

“My armor is fine,” Garrus replied. “I don’t need your ‘hand me down’ armor.”

Cerrus blinked, nearly offended by something a bit trivial in most people’s eyes. “Hand…Hand me down? This is top of the line heavy armor. Serrice Council Phantom armor…you can’t get armor better than this without raiding the Primarch’s closet,” he defended sounding a bit shocked about Garrus calling his armor ‘hand me down’. The only thing he spent more time on than his weapons was his armor. “If you’d have been wearing this instead of that crap like I told you to that round wouldn’t have penetrated.

“I do not need your armor, Cerrus, mine is fine.” Cerrus didn’t even try to hide the frustrated growl. 

“Spirits, you are more stubborn than me,” he grumbled. That was hard to do, that was really hard to do. Cerrus had the galactic market cornered on stubbornness. “That is medium armor and fine for fighting crooks on the Citadel but that outdated ablative coating is gonna get you killed. Use the fucking armor.”

Sidda narrowed her eyes to the trivial bickering that was getting louder and louder as it drug on. The squabbling escalated further as they reverted to teenagers about whom was more stubborn. It honestly reminded her of the boys on the Lante. 

“Hey! Hey!” Sidda shouted trying to get over their voices. When that didn’t work she whistled loudly and at a pitch that would hurt their ears. It worked, they fell silent. “Enough!” The two Turians went silent and looked down at the shrimp between them but she had a commanding presence. “Garrus, put the damn armor on, you’re too damn valuable to me to lose because of shitty armor.”

It wasn’t that Garrus didn’t want to wear the armor; heavy armor was nice but also, unfortunately, heavy. At least medium armor afforded him a little better mobility. This was more pride talking than anything else. He wanted to protest…he really did but hearing Sidda say that he was valuable to her ‘too valuable to lose’. That put things into perspective. “Alright, fine, give me the damn armor.”

Satisfied, she gave a single sharp nod as Cerrus actually nodded to her in gratitude. “Now gear up. We’ll be at Noveria in a few hours,” she stated and shook her head at the bickering boys as she walked away.

 

Noveria was cold…or rather…frozen, and not just frozen, its average high was barely in the 30s and that was a damn heatwave. The occupants of Port Hanshan were even chillier than the weather. A corporate capital filled with shadier characters than any Batarian Slaver ship could’ve ever dream for. 

Everyone hated Port Hanshan, the Turian’s despised it because it was snowy and cold and everyone else hated it because its hospitality was as warm as the weather. 

With Garrus grudgingly laid up under Chakwas’ orders he was convinced to stay on the Normandy and keep an eye on it along with Liara. The rest stretched their legs in Port Hanshan. The Council Spectre and her contingent of armed associates unnerved Port Hanshan’s security and ordered Sidda and company to disarm. Sidda flatly refused citing her Spectre clearance and her Turian and Krogan ‘bodyguards’ cackled in unison a gleeful “fuck you”. 

The one hassling them was a tall blonde Sergeant named Sterling; apparently, she hadn’t gotten the memo that there was a human Spectre in the ranks now. She threatened to shoot Sid if she refused to disarm and things escalated from there when the Sergeant made a threatening move toward her prompting Cerrus to pull his Brawler at lightning speed. Before she knew it, it was them versus security…guns drawn, all of them, fierce gazes and a few harsh words. Sidda wasn’t going to back off and had every right to run right over Sterling and her people thanks to the Spectre rank. She didn’t really want to leave a body count 10 seconds after arriving though. Fortunately, it didn’t come to that as Port Hanshan’s security chief, Capt. Matsuo, cleared things up before it became messy. 

**

After that it was semi smooth sailing of blackmailing and strong arming to get what she wanted, nothing was easy. Just to get in the door she had to blackmail and jump through countless hoops, it was annoying. She didn’t care about the trade secrets of companies cutting corners, though Binary Helix was an appealing target given its connections to Saren, all she wanted was access to where she needed to get. After squabbling with Anoleis and dealing with Parasini, Sidda seriously considered Wrex’s plan of “just start shooting…none of this bullshit will matter and we can get on with it”. The funny part was that the three people who couldn’t stand each other, Wrex, Cerrus, and Ashley all agreed on the same thing. 

The slow progression of getting what she wanted sped up rapidly when they learned that Benezia was on campus. Somewhere called Peak 15. Sidda grouched that anything that went by a location and a number was usually a crappy place to go. So far Hanshan hadn’t been a fun place to be so she fully expected somewhere called ‘Peak 15’ to be a circle of hell…if she could get there. 

“Jesus,” she growled annoyed. “all the security in the galaxy should take notes from these guys.” She grumbled as she was blocked from getting to the garage due to a lack of a clearance card. She was seconds from ripping someone in half with a warp or simply shooting them. 

“People are easy to search when they’re dead.” Wrex agreed. 

“Well, you’re the Turian whisperer…” Kaidan began and Cerrus looked at him unsure if he should be offended by the strange phrase. “Go talk to Lorik Qui’in and charm his pass from him.”

Ashley scoffed; the soldier had been relatively quiet so far not willing to risk anymore disciplinary action because of her ongoing feud with Cerrus. “Yeah, that’s just what we need…you knocking boots with another one of them. 

Cerrus’ mandibles clicked to the thinly veiled racist remark but let it go since her view on Turian and Human romances mirrored his own. 

Sidda shrugged to the remark; if it got her to Saren she’d sleep with Cerrus to be perfectly honest. “If it gets me what I want, what does it matter?” she replied honestly, not that she’d risk Victus in the process but she’d do what she had to. 

Cerrus patted her shoulder but it felt more like a slap to the back from his monstrous clawed left hand. “Spoken like a Turian, Shep.”

Damn Cerrus had come a long way, being friends with Kaidan seemed to have loosened him up a bit. He still didn’t call her by her first name and probably never would, too informal, but he’d heard various people call her ‘Shep’ so once in a while he let it slip. 

She huffed heavily. “Alright, I’m gonna go talk to Qui’in…I’ll be back.”

As Sidda embarked on yet another mission Cerrus looked to Kaidan. “ ‘Turian whisperer’? What the hell is that supposed to be?” Kaidan simply chuckled and shook his head. 

**

Sidda didn’t have to sleep with Qui’in to get his access card…no…he settled for good old fashion espionage. A simple plan of breaking and entering, considering she had a key to his office technically she wasn’t breaking in, that’s what she told herself anyway. Getting what Qui’in wanted was fairly simple, it was right where he said it would be and thanks to Kaidan the information transferred to the OSD without any fuss. She didn’t take the whole entourage; with Tali off collecting Liara to meet them at the Garage, Sidda left Wrex and Ashley to mill about on the Mezzanine while she, Cerrus, and Kaidan conducted the clandestine raid. Qui’in wasn’t kidding when he said half of the ESRG teams were on Anoleis’ payroll and that included Sterling. They tried to be quiet but when the dirty cops started shooting all bets were off. 

After the dust settled and everything was sorted out with Matsuo, Qui’in kept his word and gave her the pass while he spent his time shutting down Anoleis. All in all Sidda spent nearly six hours being Port Hanshan’s handyman, fixing every ones problems and putting crooked businessmen out of business. 

Irritated and a little insulted by the random comments, she made her way to the garage where Li was chatting with Garrus of all people. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Going with you,” he replied as he shifted a bit in the jet black armor that Cerrus finally got him into. He wasn’t used to heavy armor…damn it was heavy and a little big. Cerrus was a little broader than he. 

“Oh like hell you are…you’re still on the injured list,” she stated as Cerrus looked the shorter Turian up and down assessing how he looked in his back up armor. 

“If there’s a chance Saren’s here you need me, Sidda,” he pressed and Sidda sighed. She didn’t have the time or energy to argue with him.

“Fine,” she huffed with a grumble. “Stubborn ass, Blue Jay” she cursed and both Garrus and Cerrus were confused by the translation but the two humans laughed. “Kaidan, Ash, Tali, keep an eye on things out here…I’m not sure I trust the Elanus Risk Guards or anyone else here for that matter.” 

The trio nodded and Sidda turned her attention to the rest. “Everyone else…lets go hunting.”

In the bustle of everyone filing onto the elevator Tali lightly grabbed at Cerrus’ left hand catching it with her right. He paused and looked down at his hand then to her. “Be careful, Tyr.”

The Turians face relaxed a bit as he smiled then gave her a small respectful bow of his head. “I will,” he replied quietly and squeezed her fingers lightly before following the party into the elevator. Tali blushed wildly and smiled under her mask, Cerrus talked a big game but under all that irritation and bad attitude he was a sweet heart. 

**

All the fuss Garrus put up about coming along quickly vanished. Noveria was a giant ice ball and though neither Turian complained outright Sidda heard the distinct grumbling from both of them. The same type heard from Nihlus and Nov on Terra Nova during its winter. It was one of those things that just made her chuckle. Wrex wasn’t exactly relishing the biting cold either but luckily they got to stay in the Mako for the most part. 

Just as Sidda figured Peak 15 was anything but good, already knowing they were on the right track as they had to step over or run over, Geth every step of the way. Peak 15 was an isolated Research Lab contracted by Binary Helix, the company Saren had ties too. It was peculiar that Hanshan hadn’t heard from Peak 15 since Benezia passed through. That couldn’t be anything but bad which was why she brought ‘heavy hitters’ with her. Even if one of them was still mending. 

It was eerily quiet, she hated quiet…Cerrus did too. If there was one thing they agreed on it was their mutual attraction of disaster. “I don’t like this place,” Sidda said quietly.

The group agreed in various ways but the two Turians remained on high alert. “This place smells wrong,” Wrex said as they entered the mess hall. 

“When a Krogan gets the wiggins, we’re screwed,” Sidda muttered as they moved forward and were attacked by those god forsaken Stalkers. The initial skirmish with the Geth was quick but that wasn’t the end of it. 

“What happened here?” she asked noticing that it was a mess hall, food was frozen to the plates and the room was a wreck. Someone came in right in the middle of a meal and made a mess, the funny thing was there were no bodies. 

“No bodies,” Liara noted voicing her thought. 

The silence was shattered with the shrill of something completely inhuman drawing their attention to the far wall that was the exit. The bug like creature leapt at them but they all fired their various weapons and were able to drop it before it got too close them. The amount of gunfire actually made Sidda’s ears hurt. 

Cerrus moved forward and tapped the thing with his toe pointing his rifle at it. “What the hell is that?!” Sidda exclaimed seeing the carcass of the oversized mutant roach.

“Spirits…” Garrus began. “I think that’s a Rachni.”

Sidda’s eyes narrowed. “Rachni?” she asked. “As in Rachni, Rachni?”

“As in the ancient enemy?” Wrex added looking at the giant bug. “Excellent.”

Cerrus decided right then and there that he hated missions with Sidda. Only she could find the one damn planet in the galaxy that had fucking Rachni. “You gotta be kidding me?”

The five of them heard the same shrieking, shrilling noise they heard before they were attacked but this time it was louder and everywhere. “We are in serious trouble,” Sidda stated and Garrus, Liara, and Cerrus had to agree. Wrex, however, laughed.

“Hahaha! Let them come!” Wrex shouted readying his shotgun. 

Sidda had to admit Wrex’s enthusiasm certainly made life enjoyable. On the far side of the room the grates along the wall were shoved up hard enough to send them clattering across the deck. Rachni poured out of the openings first one, then two, then several. “We are in very serious trouble!” she announced, seeing the horde of giant bugs flooding the ground before them. Nothing else needed to be said as nothing could be heard over the gunfire that ensued. 

**

Sidda was still in her armor when she stood before the Council in the Comm Room on the Normandy. Noveria gave a whole new meaning to the term ‘Corporate Warriors’; she handled espionage, insider trading, blackmail, run away science experiments, giant intelligent interstellar bugs, and managed to cure an illness…all in a day’s work but now she wanted to crawl into her bunk and sleep for a week. She rubbed her face with an exhausted sigh. 

“You let a Rachni Queen go?” Sparatus barked his tone one of shock and anger. “Commander, are you out of your mind?!”

“She was no threat to us so I made a deal. I’m not in the business of exterminating entire races on a whim,” Sidda replied, honestly she could understand their worry. The Rachni damn near wiped out the Salarians and the Asari at once, now Sidda allowed a Queen to go free. 

“How can you be so sure the Queen poses no threat?” Valern asked, the Salarian was by far the most nervous about the Rachni back on the loose; they turned to the Krogan 2,000 year ago when their war went to hell in a handbasket. She expected the reaction from Sparatus and Valern but couldn’t’ get a read on Tevos. 

“Here we go.” Sidda thought, this next statement was going to get a reaction from all three of them and she knew damn well none of them were going to be favorable. “She promised to disappear and live in peace if I let her go.” Sure enough all three councilors spoke at once.

“What?!” was heard first from Tevos as Sparatus’ bark of ‘Commander’ was run over by Valern’s ‘Are you insane?’

Sidda’s sigh reflected her mood. “I made a call,” she defended. “Saren lost his research and his Lieutenant today. I call that a win in my book.” 

“Commander, the Rachni cannot be trusted,” Valern snapped obviously not satisfied with her judgement call. “This is reckless and irresponsible.”

“I will have to agree, Commander, you should not have made this deal without considering the long term consequences. This goes far beyond Saren and the Geth,” Tevos stated and was prepared to continue but Sidda held up a hand. 

“Enough,” she snipped growing annoyed. “You weren’t there so you don’t get to judge my decisions.”

“That’s not how it works, Commander, and you know that,” Sparatus scolded. 

“I am asking you to trust me,” Sidda stated firmly. “I was right about Saren, I was right about the Reapers, you need to trust me.”

Sparatus was irritated. Very irritated. “Commander, your people have a saying ‘Even a broken clock is right twice a day’,” he stated and Sidda nearly ordered Joker to the Citadel so she could kick that Turian’s ass. 

“We have another saying, Councilor, ‘go to hell’,” She spat back.

Hologram or no Sidda could feel the Turian’s glare as his eyes narrowed fiercely. 

“This is not helping,” Tevos intervened, stopping the ensuing argument. “Commander, we do trust you we only ask that you take long term consequences into account when making your decisions. The Rachni were a threat long before your people joined the Galactic community. Please bear out concerns in mind in the future,” Tevos stated and though she was trying to be neutral and diplomatic she came across as condescending. 

Sidda understood and nodded but didn’t submit. “I will do what is necessary to find Saren and stop the Reapers and I don’t much care who I piss off to get there,” she said and watched the members squirm before her. “You have my report so what’s done is done. Benezia is dead and the next stop is Saren himself.”

“Yes, Matriarch Benezia, how is Dr. T’Soni?” Tevos asked and Sidda gave her a shrug. 

Sidda’s sigh was evident; she was frustrated and troubled about what Benezia had said about the ship and this ‘indoctrination’ that could turn an Asari matriarch against the galaxy. “She watched her mother die…how do you think she’s doing?”

Her snappy tone put the three of them in their place. “Please give out condolences, Commander, and thank you for your report,” Tevos said politely leaving the briefing at that.

The unit went blank and Sidda sighed heavily. She’d rather fight a horde of bad guys then deal with them. Sparatus was fairly simple to handle but he treated her like most Turians outside the Lante did, with distain. Tevos was a typical condescending Asari and Valern was a nervous wreck like any other Salarian she’d ever met. 

Kaidan entered the room and noticed Sidda braced on the communications terminal. “You alright, Sidda?” he asked and she simply cocked her head to the right to acknowledge his presence. 

“How’s Liara?” she asked and he walked toward her. 

“She’s hanging in there,” he said and she stood up straight rubbing her face with her right hand. “How are you?”

Taking out Benezia was a victory but it didn’t feel like a win. More questions were asked than answered and Sidda now had something called Sovereign to deal with, a ship with the power to warp peoples’ minds. She sighed heavily and turned toward him with a smile patting his chest. “I’m good, Kaidan.” She said quietly but he didn’t believe her. 

**

Hours passed and Sidda sat at the desk in the quarters pouring over all the information they’d been able to gather from Peak 15. The Rachni, the Geth, Benezia…the puzzle pieces were falling into place but it was still clear as mud. It troubled her to realize that Benezia was almost an unwilling participant in all this, this indoctrination that the ship could perform was unnerving. It was a damn ship how was that possible? This was the time she started to second guess herself. The Council was right, how could she let a Rachni Queen go on its word that it would live in peace? 

Fiddling with the Turian pendant on her tags she decided she wanted to talk, but not to anyone onboard. Victus’ face appeared on the screen and she smiled instantly feeling better. “Hey,” she greeted with a broad smile. “how’re the repairs coming?” she asked. 

“We’re at the Apheus shipyards…it’s going to take some time but we’ll be back on our feet in a day or two,” he answered directly and observed what he could of her through the monitor. “Everything okay, Sid?”

She gave a halfhearted smile and scoff. “Really, really long day…and an even longer week,” she replied tiredly. 

Victus tossed something away from him and she heard it land somewhere in his quarters. “Okay, talk to me,” he said and found a comfortable place to listen. 

“Well…I walked my team into an ambush yesterday, I nearly boiled alive in my suit, Garrus got shot…then I followed a lead on Saren to a frozen hellhole where I had to deal with everything from insider trading to giant bugs,” she summed up and heard Victus snort in amusement. 

“It’s not easy being the boss is it?” he said and she scoffed. 

“Even less so when you’re chasing a traitor without all the pieces,” she added and Victus had to admit that made things a whole lot trickier. “I also realized just how screwed we truly might be.”

“How do you mean?” he asked and leaned in on the desk. 

Sidda still didn’t know but Benezia’s explanation of what happened to her and the ship called Sovereign made her nervous. “I’m not sure yet, but I’m pretty sure whatever it is won’t end well unless I get out in front of this and nail Saren’s ass to the wall.”

“Sid, if you need me you call me…I don’t give a damn what it is,” he said not really sure what was troubling her beyond the lingering guilt of Nihlus’ death. The best he could do was offering his support. After Saren attacked the Lante he had no problem stepping up to knock the shit out of the fellow Turian.

He saw a small smile grace her face and she leaned closer to the monitor on her desk. “Thank you, Adrien.”

“You should sleep, Sid, you look tired,” he advised and she nodded in agreement. 

“I think I’ll do that,” she replied. “I just wanted to talk to you.”

“Any time,” he said with a nod. “And when this is over, you, me, and however many weeks of leave we can get on the Citadel,” he added and she giggled loving the sound of that idea.

“Now that’s a deal, General,” she giggled, the idea of R&R on the Citadel with him something she could get used to. They weren’t married and probably never would be but Garrus was right, they were close enough. 

“Now, you rest and watch your back out there,” he said sounding more like an order. “I love you.”

Sidda nodded to his standing order for her to stay out of trouble. “I love you too,” she replied and the screen went black.

Cerrus thought that he was the only insomniac on ship; he really didn’t expect Tali to be up at 03:30. “What are you still doing up?” he asked looking down at her as she sat leaning against the wall. Noveria took a lot out of everyone, it was a damn nightmare. When he was forced into this assignment he never thought that he’d be fighting the Rachni. 

“Oh…I can’t sleep on this ship…it’s too quiet,” she answered sounding tired and Cerrus looked down at her with a furrowed expression. 

“I would think that quiet is conducive to sleep,” he stated and shrugged. “Of course I’d have to defer to you on that seeing as how I don’t do it much.”

Tali giggled slightly. “Not for a Quarian,” he replied as he actually sat down on the floor beside her. She was surprised when he pulled her over to lean on him. Pulling her back to his chest, Tali adjusted her position and settled into his arms as he wrapped them around her. “I’m used to the sound of engine noise and air processors and power conduits…when it’s quiet I get worried.”

“Don’t worry,” he soothed and stopped himself before he sounded like a total idiot ‘I’m here’ would be way too much. 

“I don’t worry when you’re around,” she said softly with a sweet giggle and Cerrus blinked. It sounded by far better coming from her. He blushed and thanked the Spirits that she didn’t see that. “So…what happened to your wife?”

Cerrus tensed slightly and she could feel that before he forced himself to relax. It hurt…it really did. “She died,” he replied quietly going with the most vague and easiest answer he could find. 

“How?” she asked chancing that she could talk to him about this and not make him upset or angry. She took his right hand with hers and fiddled with lacing her fingers with his. 

Cerrus sighed a little. “I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “She was on an op…I don’t have clearance to know what it was.”

“What was she like?” Tali asked and Cerrus, for the first time ever, answered freely.

“Her name was Anara,” he stated, his voice sounding a little shaky at first. “she loved shotguns…just like you.” Tali giggled and Cerrus found it strange that he was comfortable enough to talk about this with another female he liked as much as Anara. “She wanted nothing to do with me when I met her. I had to track her down and beg her to go out with me.”

Tali couldn’t picture Cerrus begging for anything. “You begged? Be serious,” she laughed and Cerrus chuckled. 

“I am,” he replied as a chuckle rumbled through his throat. “I finally got her to go dinner with me and I married her not long after that.” Tali could feel his right cheek on the side of her head. “On a mission she was all business…but at home...she was the best cook I’d ever met.”

Tali was happy with the information he was sharing, but sensed his unease about the topic. “You miss her don’t you?” she asked and Cerrus took in a deep breath. 

“Every day,” he answered honestly but didn’t want to make this conversation turn into him wallowing in his own misery. He still loved Anara and always would but Tali was different than any other woman he’d met in a while. He decided to shift the topic away from the way it was going. “What about you? I know you’re on your pilgrimage and you got wrapped up in this mess. What else? Tell me about your family.”

Tali shrugged in his arms. “My mother died a few years ago and my father’s an Admiral, serves on the admiralty board.”

“Your fathers an Admiral?” he questioned, he wasn’t an expert on the Quarians but he knew a few names. 

Tali nodded. “Rael’Zorah.”

Cerrus watched as she fiddled with his talons enjoying the feeling of her fingertips caressing his hand. “I don’t know him,” he said letting her do what she wanted with his hands. “Han’Gerrel we know, he’s good in a fight,” he stated and Tali wasn’t surprised to learn the Turians were familiar with the heavy fleets commander. “What’s your father like?” 

“Duty oriented,” she answered quickly then was quiet for a moment, she loved her father but he was more like a Commanding officer than he was a father to her. “He would hate you,” she said and Cerrus laughed.

“I’m used to that. Anara’s father hated me too,” he stated and remembered the old Turian’s glower when they first met. “Shepard calls me an ‘acquired taste’ and I’m inclined to agree.”

“I don’t think you are,” she said simply. “You just don’t make it easy for people to understand you, that’s all.” He didn’t know what to say to that, he knew he was hard to read, nearly everyone told him that. Tali settled into him and closed her eyes. The floor wasn’t terribly comfortable but he was.


	28. Hangovers and Raids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Took some liberties with a loyalty mission as I did with Garrus' recruitment. This is completely original and pretty fun to write.

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Twenty Eight: Hangovers and Raids

Garrus had no idea he could fit this many people in his apartment. It was barely 500 square feet and fairly basic, the typical unit assigned to single C-Sec personnel. It was fine for him; he was usually never there anyway. Standing it wasn’t so bad but crashing where they fell was something else entirely. The apartment was the size of a locker so having his couch, chair, and a few other items made his tiny apartment shrink even more. Coming off the success of Noveria the crew needed a night off and a night off is what they got. 

He stood in the doorway between his bedroom and the living room looking at it like the day after a battle. After the mutual consumption of alcohol, Garrus had felt it best that people come to his apartment and not try to stumble back to the Normandy and risk getting the ‘public intoxication’ citation from C-Sec. That’s all he needed, drunk and disorderly calls answered by those he used to work with. 

**24 Hours Earlier

Sidda traded her armor for her blue Alliance casual uniform and stood before Anderson and Udina. She was ‘explaining’ herself to Udina for her recent rash of missions that could only be summed up into ‘what the fuck’. 

“Commander, just what the hell have you been doing out there?” Udina asked. “Therum, Rothla, Feros, and now you unleash the Rachni on the galaxy?”

Sidda lifted an eyebrow at him, she didn’t like Udina, sniveling little piss-ant. She dealt with her mission in her own way considering its unique parameters. Granted, she went a little drastic on occasion but it was what she needed to do. “One queen is hardly ‘unleashing’, Udina,” she stated and the Ambassador’s eyes narrowed at her. 

“Don’t split hairs, Commander,” he warned sternly. “You’ve made a mess of things and the Council is not happy either. Sparatus was in here not long ago barking about your version of ‘human sayings’.”

Her chuckle was enough to make him huff and Anderson smirk. “I can give him a few more,” she offered but Udina’s expression was cold as ice to her and she sighed. “You can’t sit here and side seat drive,” she said and paced a little; while she was up here her crew was restocking the Normandy or just taking some personal time. The general consensus was that they were all going to go out and have a drink or two. Try to unwind after weeks of all go no quit. “It’s not exactly ideal, I get that, but trust me…I’ll try not the blow up the galaxy.”

“Not exactly encouraging, Commander,” Udina replied and Sidda snorted with a shake of her head. 

She rolled her eyes and caught Anderson’s ‘be nice’ expression. “Just let me do my job, Udina, and you do yours.” 

The discussion with Udina was like talking to a damn wall or a hamster running on a wheel. She told him the same thing six different ways a hundred times, by the time she left she needed a drink or at the least had the incredible urge to bang her head against the wall. 

**

Cerrus leaned back on the bench outside the Human Embassy, he didn’t like being there, it was strange. Being on the Normandy didn’t help his feelings toward humans; Kaidan was the only one that he could stand, him sitting within 20 feet of the Embassy made it seem that the universe was on tilt. 

“Hey, Tyr,” he heard a voice call and a regulation Biotiball landed in his lap. He treated it like a hot potato at first bouncing it from one hand to another a few times until he gained control of it, “what are you doing up here?”

He sat up straight and looked up at Kaidan, the only human who would be talking to him right now so informally. “Friend of mine works at the Embassy,” he answered simply tossing the ball back to him.

“You have a friend?” Kaidan joked and Cerrus snorted. 

“Acquaintance, then?” he rephrased and Kaidan laughed loudly sitting down next to him. “What’s with this?” He asked tossing the ball from hand to hand. 

“Picked it up at a shop in Zakera,” he answered catching the ball as Cerrus casually tossed it back to him. 

“Did you play?” 

Kaidan shrugged slightly. “Only a little, academy team for a minute, I think Shepard played too.”

Cerrus grunted and shook his head. He vaguely remembered that detail though he didn’t know why, he didn’t attend her birthday bash on the Lante but word had gotten around about the betting between her and Desala. “Shoulda grabbed a Clawball…better sport.”

Kaidan scoffed with a chuckle fiddling with the ball. “Regulation Clawballs are hard to find on Zakera Ward…try Shalta,” he replied and heard Cerrus chuckle. “Are you coming out with us tonight?” 

He’d heard the crew was doing out to celebrate an actual victory in this mess. Killing Benezia was a shot in the arm for everyone but Liara. Cerrus shook his head and leaned forward bracing on his elbows. “Nah…,” he replied. “I’m not good company for that.”

“Oh, come on, Tyr, you’re good company when you’re not such a hard ass,” Kaidan urged trying to convince the misunderstood Turian to come out and have a drink with the rest of them. “Besides, I think Tali said she was coming along.” Kaidan’s attempt at subtly came through like a damn bomb and Cerrus looked over her him with a mixed expression. “Don’t think we haven’t noticed, Tyr, you aren’t as subtle as you think.”

Cerrus’ audible groan was a mix of irritation and resignation. “Alright, alright…if it means that much to you I’ll come.”

Kaidan snorted loudly through a laugh. “If it means that much to me…you lying ass,” he chuckled and slapped his shoulder. “Come on…let’s go find you a Clawball.”

“Me running around Zakera Ward…yeah, nothing can go wrong there,” Cerrus muttered as he paced Kaidan. 

“I’ll protect you,” Kaidan sniped back and Cerrus scoffed. 

“Not me I’m worried out.”

**

Cerrus made a few stops before he joined the rest of the party in the Constellation Club. He’d never been to that one but it was less shady than Chora’s Den. He questioned the wisdom of going out given his lack of patience for Humans, mixing that with alcohol was a recipe for disaster but he bit the bullet and went anyway. He was dressed casual but his clothing was military grade and qualified as light armor. He figured some type of armor was better than none if he was wading into a club with drunken humans in it. 

“Hey, where are you going?” he asked as he saw Tali scurrying past him in the opposite direction. 

“Somewhere else,” she said and her shyness made him cock his head. Tali ducked her head and moved to leave but he put a hand on her shoulder stopping her. 

“What happened?” he pressed his tone a mix genuine concern and protectiveness.

“The Constellation bouncer won’t let me in, he said if I tried to get in again he’d call C-Sec and have me arrested for vagrancy…then he called me ‘suit-rat’,” she explained and tried to hide the pain of the hurtful words but Cerrus stood up straighter, his body coming its full 6’6” height. 

His mandibles clinched reflecting his anger. “Come on,” he gestured for her to walk back the way she had come from. 

Tali hesitated a moment trying to figure out what he was going to do. “What?” she asked. “It’s not im-…” she began but he turned on her silencing her. 

“Tali,” he began his tone told her everything. He didn’t like her being treated like that, “let’s go.”

The Quarian smiled behind her mask, Cerrus really did like her and she liked him. She trusted him and had to admit whatever he was gonna do was going to be fun to watch. She broke into a jog to catch up to him and his purposeful pace. 

**

The Turian bouncer sneered seeing Tali returning after telling her not to but his attention shifted to the tall Turian with her for a moment then he looked back down at Tali. “What? You can’t hear in that helmet?” he sneered. “I told you not to come back, Quarian.” Cerrus stepped forward drawing his attention once again and stood mere inches from him. The guard was young, probably a military wash out. His fringe was short and Cerrus guessed he was barely over 20 with the yellow mandible markings of Digeris. He was also at least two inches shorter than Cerrus. “What?” the guard questioned in a tone that Cerrus wanted to knock out of him, “this little suit-rat bitch your toy?”

Cerrus took offense to those words and shoved the guard the 6 inches into the wall before grabbing his tunic and yanking him back to him. Cerrus brought his left knee up hitting the young Turian right in the abdomen effectively knocking the wind out of him then held him with his left hand as he punched him hard across the face with his right fist. Cerrus’ hit bloodied his mouth immediately and dazed him to some degree. There on his knees he felt his left arm get jerked hard behind his back as Cerrus bent it back as far as it could go without snapping. The younger Turian howled in pain but Cerrus didn’t care, he held the guards left arm firm from behind and splayed his hand on top of his head yanking it back. 

“Alright, asshole, now listen. Her name is Tali’Zorah nar Rayya, not ‘Quarian’ and certainly not ‘suit-rat’,” he growled in the young ones left ear. “Say it!” raising his tone from a growl to a bark. 

“T…Tali’Zorah nar Rayya,” he repeated quickly and Cerrus held him firm. 

“Now you apologize to her for your behavior,” he instructed and the guard hesitated. Either he didn’t want to or the pain in his abdomen and arm caused him to hesitate a moment. “Now! Or so help me I will rip your arm out,” he snarled adding a sharp jerk to the already hyper extended limb. 

The guard yelled in pain again. “I’m sorry!” he yelled. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to insult you.”

Cerrus looked up at Tali, who was probably shocked as hell with what he was doing right now. “If you give her any more trouble I will come back and kick your ass from one side of the Citadel to the other,” he threatened, his growl was enough to make the toughest persons’ skin crawl with dread. He put his mouth closer to his ear and issues his final threat. “And if I ever hear you call another Quarian ‘suit-rat’ I’ll tear you in half.”

Cerrus released him with a shove causing him to topple to the floor. Tali looked Cerrus up and down as he straightened his clothing. In the literally thousands of times she’d seen Fleet and Flotilla she’s always dreamed of romancing a Turian, they were dashing and handsome. So far she’d found no one she was interested in, all the Turians she’d met so far on her pilgrimage either paid her no mind or treated her like that guard. Garrus was nice to her and handsome in a dangerous sort of way, Nov openly flirted with her but she suspected that he flirted with anything female, but Cerrus…Cerrus was a mystery. He was kind to her and helped her but she could see the torment, whatever had happened to him haunted him. She didn’t know if he defended her just now because he was a friend or if it was because of something else, they’d grown close but she didn’t want to assume anything with him. Cerrus had been through enough in his life and it had colored him, nearly ruined him. 

Tali had said nothing during his educational program and Cerrus actually worried that he’d scared her. He didn’t think that she scared easily, she may have been a somewhat timid little Quarian but she was braver than most people he’d met. He suddenly felt a pang of embarrassment for what he just did and his face reflected that. “Shall we, Tali’Zorah?” he asked masking his adolescent embarrassment and gestured for her to walk with him into Constellation to meet the rest. 

Tali nearly bounded up to him and wrapped her right arm around his left. “You’re sweet, Tyr,” she said and he purred a little, surprising himself to no end.

He’d been called a lot of things, mostly derogatory insults, but ‘sweet’ was never one of them. Even his mate had never called him sweet. “Sweet, huh?” he commented. “I’ll take it.”

**

Kaidan couldn’t help but look at Sidda in a sexual way, she was one of those women who tended to cause a stir no matter where she was, what she was doing, or what she was wearing. As of now, dressed her casual blue Alliance uniform, of course it wasn’t revealing in any way, but Sidda had curves that he enjoyed looking at. She was bent over the pool table lining up a shot and Kaidan had to blink quashing the sexy image before him. She was taken he reminded himself and returned his attention to the game. When they entered the bar Sidda and Kaidan had both spotted the pool table and practically pounced on it. Ashley had showed up a few minutes after they did and then the rest, with the exception of Tali and Cerrus, showed up at the same time. In the meantime, Sidda and Kaidan carried on their game. 

As their illustrious leader in all this, Sidda kicked it off by buying the first several rounds. The only one not in the mood to celebrate was Liara; the poor girl lost her mother. No matter what side Benezia landed on she still felt the loss. To her credit, she showed up for team moral. 

“You gonna shoot sometime soon, Shepard?” Kaidan asked and Sidda simply looked up at him as she confidently took her shot without looking away from him. It was worth it to see him groan as the cue sent two stripes into various pockets. “Oh, come on, Sid, you could have been a little gentler,” he said and Sidda chuckled as she downed her shot of scotch. 

“Buck up, Lieutenant,” she grinned and Kaidan simply smirked back at her then watched as she surveyed the table for her next shot. 

“Look who decided to show up,” Kaidan said noticing Tali walking up with Cerrus.

Cerrus merely shrugged at him as Tali passed between them. “Had a discussion at the door,” he said simply as Garrus passed him a drink, Turian brandy by the smell of it. 

“Join the party, Cerrus,” Garrus welcomed and raised his glass to the fellow Turian. 

A curse from Sidda drew their attention to her at the pool table. She had attempted a shot and missed and was now slumped over the table cursing out loud. “Oh, look, I get a shot finally,” Kaidan said sarcastically. 

Cerrus was still angry about the scene outside with the bouncer and Tali could tell. The man wasn’t tough to figure out at times, he sucked at hiding his anger. He downed the brandy quickly and ordered another. Once he got enough alcohol in him he’d forget about it, he could hold his liquor and he was a quiet drunk. 

“So, exactly what is the point of this game?” Garrus asked looking over the table as Kaidan now controlled to game. 

“Sink your balls before the other team sinks theirs,” Ashley summed up quickly and Wrex let out a single throaty laugh. 

“Sink balls,” he chuckled as Sidda shook her head at her gutter-minded crew. “I’ll show you how to sink some balls.”

“Classy, Wrex,” Sidda chuckled leaning on her cue stick. 

Kaidan managed to pull that round out of his hat and Sidda never got another shot; he left her with two of her stripes left on the board. A satisfying victory for him, the next round consisted of teams, Ashley and Sidda versus Kaidan and Tali. Tali picked up the game fairly quick as Kaidan showed her how to shoot. 

Cerrus leaned quietly against the pillar that was surrounded by their chairs and tables containing pitchers and bottles of various beverages. Bourbon, scotch, beer, brandy, you name it and it was there. He watched closely as Kaidan stood far too close to Tali and helped her with another shot, the human’s hands shadowing hers and Cerrus nearly growled but he remained still with his hackles up and his arms folded across his chest.

Garrus knew what his body language was screaming. He was jealous and protective, typical Turian male behavior. “Easy there, Tyr, I can hear you growling from at the bar,” he cautioned offering him another drink. This would make five and Cerrus was all caught up, “it’s platonic.” 

Cerrus’ mandibles clicked to the point Garrus could hear that over the loud music in the bar. “Does everyone on the ship know?” he asked his voice low and clearly annoyed as he took the drink from Garrus. 

“Probably,” he replied noticing the Captain still fixated on Kaidan being far too close to Tali. “You weren’t exactly subtle about it.”

Another growl but not directed toward the Sentinel, Tali made her shot, got a point and Kaidan had moved away from her; it was platonic, he didn’t suspect Kaidan had ulterior motives but Turian nature was had to quell. This growl was one of irritation, both at himself and at Garrus at the moment. 

**

Sidda and her crew had pretty much taken over a section of the bar, the pool table, two tables, a booth and a dart board. The drinks kept coming and moods lightened, the crew seemed to leave their animosity at the door. Cerrus didn’t like the game of pool, he just preferred to watch. 

“That’s the one.” A man said accompanied by two C-Sec officers. Cerrus looked over from his place leaning against the table. It was the bouncer that he’d ‘educated’ at the door. 

“Arrest him,” one of the C-Sec officers ordered to the other. 

“Stand up, you’re under arrest for assault,” the other one informed as he approached Cerrus. 

“Wait, whoa, hold up,” Sidda butted in, “he’s assigned to me so no one’s arresting him unless I hear a reason why.”

“He assaulted an employee,” the first officer explained as Cerrus stood up straight eyeing the arresting officer closely. Garrus was now interested as well, being her resident Cop, anything that he could do he would. 

Sidda’s brow furrowed and she looked from the officer to Garrus and then to Cerrus with her hands out to the side. “Cerrus, what the hell?” she asked as Cerrus didn’t resist against the arresting officer. 

His hands were roughly pulled behind his back and he sighed. “He had it coming, Commander,” Cerrus said with a sigh. “He wouldn’t let Tali in and called her a ‘suit-rat’.”

Sidda raised an eyebrow and looked over to Tali. Given the obvious blooming relationship between them it wasn’t much of a stretch to believe Cerrus would kick the crap out of someone who insulted her like that. “Is that what happened, Tali?” she asked.

The Quarian nodded shyly. “Yes.”

That was a good enough answer for Sidda and she turned to the officers. “Let him go,” she ordered and the lead officer gave her the Turian sneer, like she was some puny little thing that was butting into business that wasn’t hers. 

“Stay out of this, Human,” he ordered. 

Sidda took a step toward the Turian one. “My name is Shepard, Officer, and I am invoking Spectre authority, let him go,” Sidda had the stern tone of the military without going over the top and her look mirrored the same one a Turian would give. They did teach her well. 

The Turian Officer didn’t budge. “I can’t do that. He’s not a Spectre and you have no bearing on this.”

Sidda didn’t back off and Garrus could see into the future for the next minute or so. “You can and you will. Let him go. If I have to say it again things are going to get messy.”

Before the Officer would react to that unmistakable threat Garrus stepped in. “He’s not worth going head to head with a Spectre, Loren, he was defending another against bigotry.”

The Officer flicked his eyes from the little human encroaching on his personal space, to Garrus whom he vaguely knew, to his partner who had Cerrus cuffed. He made a sharp head jerk to his partner which clearly meant as ‘uncuff him’ because that’s what happened next. The Turian stepped toward Cerrus and eyed him. “You step out of line again and-…,” he began but Cerrus cut him off. 

“Don’t threaten me,” he said firmly, it wasn’t as clear and firm as anyone could sound. It didn’t have to be a threat; Cerrus had the look of Special Ops…the cold confidence, the attitude of a stone cold killer. That was what the C-Sec officer saw but didn’t run and cower. He held Cerrus’ stare and turned away of his own accord taking the other officer with him. Cerrus’ eyes fell to the bouncer; the young brat was still sporting the marks of their last engagement. “Run along, Young One,” he growled and he did just that. 

Sidda downed a shot quickly as those around them scoffed in various ways. “Gotta make a scene where ever you go, huh?” Kaidan commented to Cerrus. 

Cerrus looked at Sidda as she growled down the straight Scotch. “Commander-…,” he began until she held up her left hand, it still had the glass in it so really all she held up was an index finger. 

“We’ll talk about it later, Captain,” she said quickly not keen on ruining the fun with scolding the Turian who didn’t like her. It sounded like fun in her head but that was the Scotch talking, if she laid into him he’d give as good as she gave. It wouldn’t be much fun. 

“Another round of drinks?” the waitress asked as she came back over to the group. The blonde human woman had already come over about four times with more rounds. She hesitated a little feeling the energy of the group change as the C-Sec officers left. 

“Absolutely,” Ashley replied enthusiastically. 

The waitres’s name was Leah and she’d been flirting heavily with Kaidan all night. Kaidan winked to her and flashed a flirty smile. “Another one of the same for me, beautiful,” he said and she blushed as Cerrus flopped down next to him purposely trying to break his flirtation with the waitress. Kaidan glowered over at him as he sat far too close to him. “Comfy?”

Cerrus grunted an affirmation. “Yep,” he replied and Kaidan scoffed. When the waitress looked at Cerrus he just nodded and Tali shook her head sitting down next to Cerrus. 

Leah moved onto the rest. “How about a Fuzzy Navel?” Ashley commented casually to Sidda and Cerrus’ eyes narrowed. 

“That can’t be sanitary,” Cerrus commented disgusted. 

“It’s a drink,” Ashley said her tone irritated but not overly hostile.

“Why would you want to drink someone’s disgusting navel?” It was a question that more than he pondered, Garrus was probably wondering too but no one but Cerrus said anything. 

Kaidan cleared his throat. “Fuzzy Navel is the name of a drink, Tyr, its vodka, peach liquor, and orange juice.”

“What about a Sex on the Beach?” Sidda continued and Cerrus’ expression didn’t change, he went from confused and not knowing what they were talking about to borderline appalled by human names for the strangest things. 

Kaidan headed him off before he asked. “Also a drink…little more complicated, way too fruity for me.”

“Why can’t you people keep the names simple?” he asked and Garrus seconded that. The officer had spent more time around humans than Cerrus had and even he hadn’t figured them out. 

The girls ignored him and continued on. “Jello shots?” Ashley mentioned and Sidda’s stomach did hula hoop at the mere mention. 

“I haven’t been to do Jello Shots since the academy,” Sidda replied shaking her head. 

The next round of drinks came; it was the dangerous part of the evening when people started mixing the bases. Sidda started with just her straight Scotch but had now added Vodka to the mix, a poor choice for the next morning. Sidda was still able to walk straight though, or at least, no one had told her that she was weaving or swaying and it seemed that everyone was understanding everyone well enough so maybe the slurred speech wasn’t too bad yet either. She’s always found the idea of a dart board in a bar as largely misguided. The darts here didn’t have steel points but the Pubs she’d visited on Earth did, she’d always questioned the wisdom in giving intoxicated people a tiny spear to throw at a wall. 

“It’s called Darts,” Sidda said and the two Turian’s looked at each other and then back to Sidda and Kaidan. 

“What?” Garrus asked.

“It’s a game, think of it as a test of marksmanship,” she explained in the simplest way possible. 

Garrus took the single dart she presented to him. Turians were surprisingly dexterous even with the vicious claws they had. “Marksmanship with this?” he questioned, Cerrus hadn’t said anything but he was paying attention even through his best efforts to get drunk.

Garrus wasn’t convinced of her explanation and she shrugged. “Okay, fine, think of it as hand eye coordination. You throw this at that, if you get really good you can put the dart wherever you need it.” She said demonstrating it by throwing on that hit the board firmly in a 15 then handed him one of the darts. “Try it. Try to hit the center.”

Garrus took the dart and tossed it as close to the same form she had. It hit dead center in the bullseye and Sidda’s brow furrowed. “Beginners luck…try again.” Garrus took the last dart and repeated it putting the next dart right next to the one already in the bull. Her expression changed to irritation and she eyed him trying to ignore his obvious smirk. “You suck,” she hissed also ignoring the deep chuckle coming from him.

Cerrus’ expression changed to his typical ‘I don’t understand human slang’ expression and he glanced at Kaidan who shook his head taking a drink of his beer. “Don’t ask, Tyr, I’m not explaining that one.”

The game was simple; Sidda and Kaidan called it Cricket. The object explained was simple: hit the specified numbers three times and close them out. Usually played by individuals there was an effort made to help the Turians so they made it a team game. 

“Kaidan, hell no, you can’t have both snipers.” Sidda argued as Garrus looked over his shoulder at Cerrus getting another drink from the table. “I’ll take mine and you take yours,” she added and grabbed Garrus’ hand pulling her toward him and clinging to him like a giddy school girl clutching her crush. Garrus played along and slung an arm over her. 

“Looks like you’ve been claimed, Vakarian,” Cerrus said finishing his drink quickly. He remained close to Tali, the protective mate in him. After the encounter with the Turian bouncer he dared anyone to touch her or say anything about her. That bouncer got off easy; he would have killed him had Tali not been there. It dredged up memories that he’d rather keep locked away; Anara was a Cabal and had seen her fair share of discrimination. He remembered one vividly; one of the few times he and Anara were on Palaven together, at morning mess he watched two enlisted men kick her chair from under her, he heard Anara squawk in pain and everything had gone red after that. He put both of them in the med bay and the squawk he heard from his mate was one of them stepping on her left hand hard enough to break it. He spent 10 days in the brig for that. 

“Apparently so,” Garrus said and looked down at the little human under his right arm as Cerrus shook his head sharply trying to shake the memory he’d preferred hidden. 

“And so have you, Sweetie, get over here,” Kaidan teased with a chuckle making the rest of them laugh. Cerrus was jerked over to Kaidan but knew he was merely joking.

“Get off me,” he said and pushed Kaidan’s hand off him.

The Turians picked up darts quickly, as expected and soon there was a guys against girls game going on. Wrex preferred not to play and Liara didn’t seem to be handling all the alcohol that well so she was nursing a drink and enjoying the company. It was Kaidan, Garrus, and Cerrus verses Sidda, Ashley, and Tali in the most frustrating game of 501 that anyone had ever seen or heard about. Largely impaired by the drinks, the boys needed to double out a 10 that not a one of them could hit and the girls had the same issue but with 40. Tali ended up winning it for the girls after nailing the double 20. In all it was a great bonding experience, no one was fighting, insulting, or sneering that wasn’t related to game banter. 

**

Sidda’s head throbbed from the right temple to the left and back again. When she opened her eyes she found herself on the couch with her feet across Kaidan’s lap. She vaguely remembered sitting down on the couch the night before and it took her a moment to remember where she was, Garrus’ apartment on the Citadel. Around her were various other members of her crew on various pieces of Garrus’ furniture. She managed to get up and walked, more like staggered, toward the kitchen area. 

Garrus was leaning on the counter with the singular look of worry on his face. She passed it off; the hangover was trumping everything else. Her vision swayed a little but the cold comfort benefit of being a biotic meant that hangover usually didn’t last that long. The amp had its benefits outside of harnessing Dark Energy. 

“Good morning,” she managed out, her throat dry and scratchy. A wave of dizziness hit her and braced on the counter a moment. 

“Shepard,” he greeted but something in his tone told her that something was wrong. It was possible he had aspirin but she doubted it so she turned around slowly and threw the nearest item at her Medic to wake him up. 

“Even hungover I can hear something’s wrong,” she commented turning back toward him as the shoe she threw succeeded in not only rousing Kaidan but Cerrus and Tali as well.  
“I need your help,” he replied simply. 

That tone wasn’t good, it was simple but it carried weight with it, something was wrong. “Coffee,” she said simply and Garrus shook his head. 

“I don’t have coffee, Commander,” he replied and Sidda whimpered, she needed coffee, something to help shake the hangover. Garrus was impatient, however, and continued on. “A few months ago a friend of mine was beaten and raped by Fist’s men. Her name’s Leena, she was my partner for a few years.” His words drew the attention of Kaidan mostly and Cerrus half listened as the voice drew him from the living room. His head was throbbing also but he wasn’t as bad off as Sidda was apparently. “She’s been at the Zakera Ward Hospital recovering. I know Fist ordered it, I know it was his men…I need your help to prove it.”

She felt her stomach do flip flops and she closed her eyes tight waiting for the nausea to pass. “All the technology in the galaxy and we haven’t found a cure for the fuckin hangover,” she said and felt a burp escape. It tasted bad but she was determined to keep stomach contents in her stomach. 

“And the common cold,” Kaidan added and she groaned. 

“Oh, Alenko, shut up,” she mumbled and groaned feeling her stomach rumble some more. 

Garrus blinked more annoyed than ever, the fact that Sidda was so hungover that he didn’t even think she heard him irritated him. “Commander,” he prodded in a louder tone.

Sidda raised her left hand up to tell him to wait. “I heard you, Garrus…just give me a minute…,” she said took a deep breath as Kaidan tossed her a bottle of pills. Something for her head. “So, what do you want me to do? You can’t get to Fist…he’s singing like a canary to your Organized Crime Division.”

Cerrus’ eyes narrowed questioningly. “A Canary’s a bird.” Kaidan provided and earned semi appreciative nod from the Turian. 

“Leena never said Fist was there, they were his pack of goons.”

“You said she served a Warrant to him?” Sidda clarified downing as many of the pills as was safe with a glass of water. “I take it you guys found nothing?” 

“Not enough to arrest First but enough to shut down whatever was going through that depot for a few days,” Garrus explained frustrated by Sidda making him retell this again, he could see she was warring with a massive hangover and ordinarily he would wait for her to be a little more clear headed but he didn’t have the time now. “Leena said that a few of his men, a human and a Krogan, threatened her while she was searching them. Said they’d…do things to her if they saw her again.”

Sidda’s head cocked to the left. “Did she report that?”

Garrus gave her a confused expression, not seeing the relevance, but answered it anyway. “No.”

“That wasn’t very smart,” Sidda replied bluntly and felt the eyes of Kaidan and Cerrus on her immediately. 

Garrus didn’t see that as a necessary comment toward someone he cared about. “Commander!” he barked and Sidda focused on him, headache and hangover or not. 

“Vakarian, you raise your voice like that again I’ll kick your a.” She warned and Garrus found it difficult to keep his obvious retort silent. “You haven’t answered my question: what do you want me to do about it?”

“Help me find these bastards…I think I know who they are but I don’t have any evidence aside from Leena had told me.”

Sidda got a sense of Garrus’ mood, was he asking her to be judge, jury, and executioner? “And do what when we find them?” she asked and Garrus stood up straight. Cerrus’ eyes flipped between the two of them curious about the answer. 

“I’ll tell you when we find them,” he answered his tone quiet. Cerrus quietly cocked his head as he observed Sidda’s reaction. He judged Garrus had the potential to bring vigilante justice if he felt the cause was worth it, he was hot headed and potentially dangerous. Sidda on the other hand would kill if needed to defend, to protect, under orders, if the occasion didn’t skew her morals she’d do her duty. That was something about her that he found he could respect, in that regard, she was like a Turian. 

Sidda wasn’t sure how she felt about that answer but at least it was honest. “Alright, we’ll help, Garrus,” she nodded giving him a sense of solidarity with her. She owed him, big time; this was a small step toward repaying that. 

Cerrus cleared his throat. “Commander, we have a traitor to catch,” he reminded simply and earned the ire of everyone in the room, most notably Garrus. 

“Are you kidding me?” Garrus snarled.

Cerrus shrugged like the one voice of reason, the one to make sure the course stayed true. “Renegade Spectre. Geth invasion,” he reminded in as snarky a tone as he could come up with. It came across as harshly sarcastic. 

“You really are an asshole, Cerrus.” Garrus snapped in return and his fellow Turian merely shrugged that off, he’d been called worse.

Sidda raised her hands to stem the argument. “Alright, enough; Cerrus is right. Kaidan, what time is the Normandy scheduled to depart?”

“1600.”

Sidda nodded tiredly. “Good, that gives us 8 hours,” she sighed pushing the throb in her head to the back of the line. “Kaidan, get everyone awake and back to the Normandy, have the Chief and Tali make sure all the requisitions got where they needed to be. Garrus and Liara are with me…I want to talk to Leena. We’ll meet up at C-Sec; figure out where we go from there.”

**

Sidda still felt nauseous but the amp had done what is usually did, quelled the headache, the only time it didn’t work well was when it fought the losing battle against dextro alcohol, she’s developed a tolerance to the brandy but that was about it. It tasted like honey but it whooped her ass. Liara had consumed the least amount of drinks the night before, though she seemed like she had fun she really wasn’t in the mood and Sidda felt for her, the whole crew did. Now she, along with Garrus, were going to go talk to a rape victim…not the best task anyone of them had ever undertaken. 

Leena Vol was 160 years old and had been in the Asari military before joining C-Sec, it was a common story for an Asari. She was Liara’s height, with silvery eyes, striking cobalt skin tone with a fuscha stripe down her lower lip and dotting accents under the eyes from her tear ducts to where an eyebrow would end on a human. She had a kind face and a nice smile that seemed to brighten when she saw Garrus. 

“Leena,” he greeted gently, his body language changed and Sidda guessed that Leena may have been something more than just a partner, “this is Shepard…she’s a Spectre who’s willing to help.”

Leena’s brow furrowed as she looked from Garrus to Sidda and then back to Garrus. “Help with what?” The question seemed to throw Garrus off and Sidda knitted her brow. “Garrus, Pallin wants proof, I don’t have it,” she sounded frustrated.

“I might be able to work around that,” Sidda offered quietly. 

Leena saw right through Garrus. “Vigilante justice? Garrus, don’t…Pallin will kick you off the force.”

Garrus growled, loudly. “I don’t care about that,” he snarled. “Fist is in custody, he’s not going to tell us anything while he can bargain with everything else.” Sidda’s eye flicked between them. Garrus was frustrated, angry but Leena was calm…strangely calm. She didn’t expect an Asari to be in pieces over this especially one that was a military veteran and a trained C-Sec officer but she did expect her to want to bring those who hurt her to justice. It dawned on Sidda a moment later. They knew who did it but couldn’t prove it and Garrus was about to do something rash. That’s why Leena was so calm; she was trying to keep Garrus from flying off the handle. They continued to argue as she silently made her assessment sparing a few looks to Liara; the scientist had a perpetual concerned look on her face, kind and sympathetic. 

“Shepard is a Spectre and a good person, if she can help; I know she will find justice for you,” Liara said calmly and her voice seemed to cool the snarling tempers between Leena and Garrus. 

“If Fist knows anything about what happened rest assured I’ll make him talk, but I want to know what happened,” Sidda said and Leena gave her an expression that was a mix of several emotions. “You don’t have to go into detail just tell me what happened and tell me what you remember.”

“Fist wasn’t there,” Leena replied, her tone stern. 

Sidda sighed; she was as stubborn as Garrus, what a partnership that must have been. “But if he ordered it I’ll make sure he goes down for it. Please, just…tell me what you know.”  
Leena folded her arms across her chest and gave Garrus a semi hostile glare, he was only trying to help and she knew that. Liara sat with her as Leena went into as much as she could remember; it was an awful tale even without the detail. She’d been on her way home when she was cornered by two Batarians and attacked. Leena cursed herself for being caught off guard and Sidda noticed Garrus standing like a coiled spring, she wondered what their relationship really was. Leena went on to explain that she remembered a human and a Krogan in addition to the two Batarians and that after a while she was beaten so badly that she didn’t remember anything after the first two. Sidda was happy that she brought the young scientist along as the sympathetic ear, she herself wasn’t good at that; she couldn’t sit there and pretend to empathize. Part of her did, that wasn’t the issue but she couldn’t help but look at it as what could you have done different or how did you let yourself get into that situation. 

In addition to her own clenched jaw about the story she could hear Garrus mandibles clicking. One very angry Turian, she’d been told that he was a hot head but so far he hadn’t displayed much more than anyone else had on this mission so far. She snorted to herself. Guess he just needed the right button.

By the time they were finished listening to Leena regale them with her horrible story Sidda couldn’t speak for Liara but she was ready to kill any man in sight, Garrus’ company excluded of course. On the way out she felt like she needed a shower, not from talking to Leena but from thinking about what happened. She’d left out just enough detail to let the imagination run wild, Sidda didn’t know what was worse; knowing the whole story or vague details. 

“Commander,” Liara began, “please don’t make me sit through another story like that.”

Sidda scoffed as she whole heartedly agreed. “Yes, please,” she replied with a heavy sigh. “Garrus, do you know who she’s talking about?”

Garrus gave her a tentative nod. “The Krogan and the Human, maybe…the two Batarians, however…Fist has a lot of them in his employ,” he answered and she huffed.

“C-Sec know where they are?” she asked and Garrus gave her an indiscernible shrug. “I know some people I can ask for an update…Fist’s men are hard to find.”

**

C-Sec was like any other police precinct Sidda had been in, not to say she’d been in a lot of them but she had seen her fair share on Earth. Bustling with people, cops, suspects, victims and Garrus strutted in like he was still assigned there. Garrus had worked in C-Sec for years so everyone he passed knew him. He was still a cop but temporarily assigned to a Spectre. Sidda got a few looks as Garrus shook a few hands in passing on his way to find who he was looking for. 

They passed interview rooms, squad rooms, and everything else you’d see in a precinct only on a larger scale. Garrus led them into an office with a single Turian typing away at the computer. He looked up and almost did a double take when he saw the big Palaven native walking toward him with a human and an Asari. 

He blinked and stood to greet them. “Vakarian, what are you doing here? I thought you were TAD?” he asked and clasped his arm in friendship. 

“Just working on something,” he replied. “I need your help with something, Chellick.”

Chellick gave him a dubious expression. “Word is you’re assigned to a Spectre,” Chellick said sounding suspicious about what he wanted; Garrus had something of a reputation around C-Sec so when he was being vague it was usually because he was irritated with C-Sec red tape. Chellick’s eyes flicked to the Asari, she was pretty, and then to the human.  
The human he recognized, the short brunette who’s Spectre induction had been aired about a thousand times on the news. 

“Sidda Shepard,” she introduced and extended her hand to him which he shook firmly with a nod. 

“The first human Spectre…a pleasure, Commander,” he nodded and then Liara followed suit introducing herself to him as Sidda studied him. His markings were the same as Desala’s. He was from, or his family, was from Oma Kerr. “What can I do to help, Garrus?”

“It’s about Leena’s case,” Garrus said bluntly and Chellick groaned. 

“Does Leena have something new?” he asked and Garrus huffed, this was apparently the tough part. She couldn’t identify them, therefore they had nothing. Garrus’ expression was enough to answer his question. “I have talked to Leena too…she can’t identify them and DNA didn’t come back with a hit.”

“She heard a human and a Krogan and she saw the two Batarians that jumped her,” Garrus fought back and Chellick shook his head. 

“Who she doesn’t know, she probably could ID them if she saw them again but there a couple thousand Batarians in this ward arm alone,” Chellick explained his tone raising slightly to drive his point home to the stubborn Turian who was focused on the task. 

Garrus grumbled, annoyed with this. “They work for Fist, which narrows field.” 

Chellick sighed at the circular argument that they’d had since this whole thing began. Garrus didn’t have proof and that pissed him off. “Prove it. Prove they work for him. Prove that he ordered it. Or prove that they acted alone. I’d love to nail these bastards to the wall the same as you but without proof they’ll be out in a day and who do you think is going to suffer the retaliation.”

“We’ve leaned on all his people already,” Garrus growled sounding frustrated and borderline angry. 

“How about we go straight to the source,” Sidda suggested and Garrus’ head cocked to the left. “If Fist knows where his boys are, let’s ask him.” 

“Commander, Fist will never tell us where they are and Organized Crime would never let us get anywhere near him,” Garrus said and Sidda shrugged, she had the trump card and knew it. The last time she dealt with Fist she was just an Alliance Officer on a mission and she did some real damage, now she was a Spectre and the possibilities were endless with a bastard like him. 

“Spectre remember,” She reminded. “Take me to Fist.”

Chellick’s expression was priceless. “Wait, wait a minute, wait a minute, Commander, what are you going to do?” he asked sounding about as nervous and worried as Garrus felt. 

“I’m going to get him to tell me everything we want to know,” she replied and the Turians looked at each other. Garrus was sure that he didn’t like the sound of that, Sidda was probably about to piss off all of C-Sec in one fell swoop. Should be fun to watch but he was terrified at the same time. Chellick understood the Spectre authority and wanted to catch the men who assaulted Leena as much as Garrus did so he nodded tentatively. 

“Garrus, you find the people who did this and I’ll be there to back you up,” the other Turian assured and Garrus nodded at him appreciatively. 

**

Getting Fist into a room so Sidda could talk was a covert affair, Chellick helped and steamrolled the watch commander without letting Fist’s representative or lead detective get wind. 

Sidda still didn’t like Fist; just the way he looked irked her. At the moment it was worse, he was sitting too comfortably for her taste. His hand had healed up some but she could still see the remains of the gunshot she’d inflicted. 

“What the fuck do you want?” he hissed loudly and she scoffed as she sat down letting Garrus stand menacingly in the corner with strict orders to keep his trap shut unless something got out of hand. To keep Chellick out of too much trouble he stayed outside so it was just Sidda and Garrus. 

“And a hello to you too, Fist,” she replied with a smirk. “How’s the hand?”

“Blow me, Bitch,” he hissed back as she snorted softly. Garrus had heard that enough times from the humans he’d interrogated to know what that meant. 

“Pass,” she rebutted with a fake smile. “We need to talk,” she said and folded her hands together on the table. 

“Oh yeah, what about?”

“Officer Leena Vol…a C-Sec officer that was assaulted by some of your…associates,” she informed and Fist scoffed. “I want to know who they are and where I can find them.”

“Why the fuck would I tell you?”

“Word is that Organized Crime is going to throw the book at you…you’re looking at a lot of jail time even with what you have given to them,” she continued, “you tell me what I want to know and maybe I can do something about that.”

Fist’s brow furrowed, Sidda could feel Garrus looking at her curiously but she never looked away from Fist. “What the hell could you do?”

“How about I start with what could happen if you don’t tell me what I want to know,” she went on and Garrus observed her, she was so calm and cold, a marked change from the last time she ‘talked’ to Fist. “I have a mind blowing amount of shady friends now, bounty hunters, mercs, Turians…you name it I can call it up. If you don’t tell me who attacked Officer Vol it’s a dealers choice as to how long you’re going to last in holding and how you’re gonna die.” 

Fist’s expression didn’t change but Garrus could tell he was thinking or at least taking her words to heart. “What are you offering?” 

Sidda turned the pad around to him and slid it forward. “This is your ‘get out of jail free card’. I exercise my Spectre authority to grant your immediate release. If you tell me what I want to know.”

Spectre authority superseded most everything else in Council space and Fist knew that. “How do I know that’s legit?” 

“Signature and fingerprints are all over it,” she assured with a shrug. “You tell me what I want to know and it’s all yours.” 

“And C-Sec will honor it?” he clarified, Fist wasn’t stupid, he’d seen all the tricks that C-Sec could come up with. 

“They don’t have a choice,” Garrus piped up, his tone a low growl. “Quit jerking us around and tell us what you know or this deal walks out that door.” Garrus was expecting to get barked at or scolded but Sidda said nothing. 

“Graal and Serok are the Batarians, the Krogan is Weyrloc Rohr and the human…they call him Crowe.” Fist told them quietly and Sidda looked over to Garrus silently asking if he knew who they were. 

“The Crowe?” Garrus asked and Fist nodded.

“They usually hang out in the Blackhouse district,” he went on and Sidda looked over to Garrus who again nodded to her. It was very good to have a veteran cop on the team. 

“If this doesn’t pan out…I’m gonna lock you in a room with Garrus and Wrex and take bets on which one of them kills you first,” she threatened, her tone sounded more like a promise.

Fist’s eyes flicked from her to the pissed off Turian and then back to Sidda as she headed out of the room. Chellick had been watching and was in the appropriate tizzy as she had expected. 

“Commander, are you out of your mind? You’re gonna let him go?” Chellick babbled and Sidda shushed him. 

“Keep your voice down, Detective,” she scolded and looked over to Garrus. “Blackhouse District…good, bad, ugly?”

“Known criminal hangouts, low income, C-Sec loves it,” he replied and she snorted at the obvious sarcasm. “And he mentioned Crowe, I had a feeling that merc bastard was a part of this.”

“Care to share, Gentleman,” Sidda commented, Chellick spoke first. 

“Human merc goes by Crowe; they’re all enforcers for Fist,” Chellick said quickly. 

“Sid, if Crowe is in there we’re gonna need some more firepower,” Garrus added and she nodded in agreement. 

“Get Cerrus and Kaidan down here,” she nodded and turned to Chellick. “wanna go have some fun, Detective?”

Chellick snorted sounding almost amused. “Only someone who’s not a cop would call going into Blackhouse after Crowe fun.”

Sidda chuckled. “After what I’ve encountered lately…this’ll be a walk in the park.”

**

The Blackhouse district was as advertised, a criminal funhouse. The good part about Fist being firmly on C-Sec’s shit list was that they knew where his little hideouts were.  
Crowe especially, the Merc had been flagged by C-Sec the second he stepped on the station a year ago, hired by Fist and a thorn in law enforcements side. C-Sec suspected him of a lot of bad deeds but nothing ever stuck, he was good with tech and covered his tracks. 

With Sidda was Garrus, Cerrus, and Kaidan but they also had Chellick with them so the Executor didn’t hit the ceiling when this all got back to them. Sidda had the authority to do what she wanted but Pallin notoriously didn’t like Spectres. So there was probably a one sided shouting match from Pallin at the end of this little rainbow. Garrus and Chellick represented the law enforcement so no one could say what they were doing was illegal. 

“Garrus, get the door,” Sidda ordered conversationally as they descended on the warehouse that was a pit for Fist and his goons. According to Chellick, however, this was more than likely Crowe’s nest; he was frequently sighted in the area and had been hauled off by C-Sec a dozen times from this location. 

Chellick went first after Garrus defeated the lock and Sidda praised the detective’s initiative, he seemed like a good man and a good cop. Garrus hadn’t scoffed or sneered about him coming along so she figured that he was at least respectable. Garrus was next followed by Sidda. Kaidan and Cerrus were assigned to the back entrance with the other group of officers to make sure the exits were covered. It was shockingly easy to get in and find their targets, as Fist said four people that fit the descriptions were there plus more. Most of them were seat around a round table playing cards and were none the wiser about what was about to happen. 

On the ride over Chellick already volunteered to treat this like a raid and brought a few extra officers to handle the back as they went in the front. “Good afternoon, Gentleman,” Chellick began in a raised tone as he startled the half dozen men in the room, “this is a raid so don’t do anything stupid. Stay where you are and put your hands in the air.”  
His words apparently fell on deaf ears for some as a young human male bolted toward the back. All Sidda heard was a hearty thwack and he sprawled back into view, face bloody with Cerrus turning his rifle back around. The other human in the area reached for the pistol on his hip and Sidda flared her biotcs. 

“Don’t!” she barked aiming her pistol at him but showing him that she was fully prepared to rearrange his molecules. He didn’t listen and drew quickly, omni-tool activating and setting off an explosive. The blast was small but it made Chellick’s team shield their faces as the human ran.

“That’s Crowe!” Garrus yelled and took off after him. 

“Garrus, wait!” Sidda yelled but he was already chasing him further into the warehouse. “Cerrus, with me!” she ordered as she took off after Garrus. 

Crowe sprinted at top speed through the warehouse but humans were far outclassed by Turians when it came to running. A human sprint was barely a jog for a Turian and Garrus caught him quickly as Crowe sent an incinerate toward him. Garrus rolled under it and reached out with his right hand catching Crowe’s right foot tripping him up. The Merc fell flat on his face bloodying his mouth and undoubtedly breaking his nose in the process. They both scrambled to their feet quickly and glared at each other. Garrus with intense focus and Crowe with the look of someone who knew what he was doing. 

“Vakarian,” he growled, he’d lost his pistol when he performed a face plant but activated his omni-blade. “How’s your partner?”

Garrus saw red and cast his pistol to the side preferring hand to hand. The fight was on after that. Garrus blocked every hit with precision accuracy and made sure to stay out of the way of the blade. It was over in under a minute, Garrus trapped Crowe’s left arm under his arm and drove a hit up under his extended arm, he heard the humerus snap and Crowe’s howl of pain was music to his ears, from there Garrus drove his right knee into his spine forcing Crowe to his knees. The Merc screamed in pain as he tried to catch himself with his broken arm. Garrus grabbed a handful of Crowe’s hair and pulled him up to his knees. Vengeance was his, this son of a bitch hurt Leena, violated her. He could smell the fear and poised to snap his neck. 

“Garrus!” he heard Sidda yell in her commanding officer tone, the one she used to rein people in, a tone that was normally reserved for Cerrus. He didn’t see Cerrus tackle him but he felt it when he was rammed into the nearest object. He felt like he was hit by a Skycar.

“Get off me!” Garrus fought back struggling in Cerrus’ grip. Cerrus saw the rage he was in and knew that Garrus had one thing on his mind, killing Crowe. It was a Turian rage, Turian’s lost their tempers like everyone else did but this was different. This was a rage.

He almost slipped from Cerrus’ grip but he was grabbed again and slammed hard into the wall that Cerrus has rammed him into. “Knock it off!” Cerrus roared getting into his face, he was still the dominate Turian and was treating Garrus as he would any other subordinate. Garrus blinked coming out of his rage and realized who was in front of him. He patted Cerrus’ arm indicating that he was back in his right mind and Cerrus let him go but only took a half step back remaining on his guard. 

Sidda had seen the struggle between the Turians but was focused on Crowe. His face was bloody, he cradled his arm like it was broken, but he still didn’t look beaten. “Name,” she ordered and he panted as he spit a glob of blood onto the floor. 

“Fuck you,” he answered. 

Sidda thought about punching him but decided against it. “Tell me, or I’ll turn him loose on you,” she hissed and gestured to Garrus still seething rage. Crowe was in his 30s, black hair, brown eyes, and probably good to look at before he busted his face up. 

“Crowe,” he answered quietly and spat out more blood looking the brunette biotic up and down, she didn’t look like a cop. “You’re not a cop, who are you?”

“Spectre Shepard,” she replied and she saw Crowe’s demeanor deflate. 

“A Spectre. Fuck,” he cursed and she snorted.

“Yeah,” she nodded satisfied with the fear that struck into people, “you’re fucked. Cerrus, get him up.” She ordered and keyed the radio turning back to the way they had come. “Chellick, we got him.”

**

Parading their suspects into the C-Sec was a good feeling for Garrus and Chellick, they didn’t often pair together but when they did they worked well together. They marched their catch past most of the squad room and straight into holding. Pallin had his shouting match with his two officers, mainly Chellick since Garrus was assigned to a Spectre, for not following protocol and bending the rules by letting Sidda talk to Fist. That led to him barking about Spectre’s overstepping bounds. While he was grateful for solving Leena’s assault case he sorely disagreed with their methods. 

All complaining aside having Crowe in custody was a shot in the arm, nothing they ever had on him stuck, he was good at covering his tracks but he slipped up this time. Now the work began to link it all together, match the DNA to what was taken from Leena and to get her to identify the two Batarians. 

To say C-Sec was pissed off at her was an understatement; she let a potential wealth of information for organized crime walk out the front door with a free pass. The irritation that came next left Sidda, Garrus, Cerrus, and Kaidan standing off near the lift watching Fist walk out with the most irritatingly smug look on his face. Even though she did it, she didn’t like it, she thought about going back on it but she made him a deal and she got what she wanted, Garrus got what he wanted, Leena got the justice she deserved. 

“You know that he ordered it, right?” Cerrus commented quietly, he had been listening to everything that was going on. He didn’t really want to be doing this right now but given the situation he took it even though he thought they needed to be out finding Saren before he blew up the galaxy…or worse. 

Sidda grunted her response in a long uhhh-huhh. “He’ll piss someone off and they’ll net him,” she commented. “Or Wrex will find him and fulfill his contract.”

Kaidan snorted thinking of how thrilled the Krogan would be to hear that Fist was out of C-Sec’s clutches. “Oh, I can’t wait to see the look on his face when you tell him.”

“Chellick said he’d watch him and Organized Crime is gonna crawl up his ass as often as possible,” Garrus added quietly and looked down at Sidda standing between him and Kaidan. “Commander, I would avoid C-Sec for a while…they’re all talking about lynching you.” 

Sidda sighed heavily, really the last thing she wanted to do was make an enemy of C-Sec, she already knew Pallin didn’t like her much and she couldn’t wait to hear Anderson and Udina come unglued over this, but to get what she wanted she had to crash through C-Sec like a bull in a china shop. At least she had Garrus…and now apparently Chellick. She dropped her head and scratched her left temple. “Alright, I’ve seen enough…let’s get the hell out of here.”

“Hey, Commander,” a flanged voice called and she paused walking looking to see who it was. It was Chellick. 

“Chellick, hopefully you didn’t get busted too much for helping us out,” she said and Chellick would be lying if he said he wasn’t in trouble. 

“It’ll pass…I’ve had worse…I was partnered with him for a little while after all,” he said and gestured toward Garrus. “I just wanted to say that…this job is difficult and it’s usually unpleasant but if you ever need backup for anything, call…I’ll be there,” he nodded politely and extended his hand to her and was surprised when she clasped his arm in friendship. It was a more Turian type of handshake and he nodded at her. 

“Been a pleasure, Detective,” she said with a smile. “Stay out of trouble.”

Chellick scoffed sounding like Nov as he did. “Well, with you not here I stand a better chance of that.” She laughed and slapped his left arm before heading to the elevator that would take her and her team to the Normandy. 

Cerrus and Kaidan leaned against the back waiting patiently and Sidda noticed that Kaidan had begun to mirror Cerrus’ body language as they were both standing the same way with the same expression. It couldn’t hurt Kaidan to pick up the cold attitude of Cerrus so long as he didn’t become him. The galaxy only needed on jackass like him. Garrus was quiet and she looked over at him as he tapped the button. 

“So…what is Leena to you?” she asked and Garrus looked down at her sharply, he wasn’t going to answer that.

“She was my partner,” he replied and she shook her head with a sarcastic snort. 

“You know for a cop you really do suck at lying,” she said as the door closed and the lift took them up to the docks. Garrus didn’t reply to that, if she wanted to know more she was going to have to get him beyond drunk or beat it out of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes. Cerrus and Kaidan actually get along. Weird right?


	29. Reason

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a shorty, I couldn't find a place to put this in the preceeding chapter or the one after it so I gave it one by it's self. This one does have a special 'soundtrack' if you will. The Reason by Hoobastank used for Cerrus and Tali.

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Twenty Nine: Reason

 

Garrus was seated on the couch in Sidda’s quarters as they laughed about the mission they’d just completed. The team had consisted of Garrus, Kaidan, and Wrex and when Sidda had sent them down to the steamy hot planet she hadn’t expected a comm call only 30 minutes later. Apparently it was also the last time Garrus would ever let Kaidan drive the Mako, the Lieutenant got the tank so stuck in a crevasse that it took the Normandy and the combine ingenuity of Cerrus, Tali, Adams, and Joker to get it unstuck and back onboard. It was a story that begged to be told. 

“That is the last time I ever let him drive that thing.” He chuckled as she chuckled as well. 

“How in the hell did he miss a 300 foot drop?” she asked through her chuckling. 

Garrus shook his head. “I don’t know but when we found it I think even Wrex screamed.”

Sidda couldn’t stop the laughing; just the mental image of the three of them carelessly careening off a cliff into a steep crevasse was enough to make her start laughing again. “Oh my God, he will never live that down.”

“Not if I can help it.” He chuckled. 

Sidda judged his personality of late; it had been about three days since the police raid they’d worked on. Three days since Garrus nearly killed the merc named Crowe. She still didn’t know what his relationship with Leena was but it was enough to make him want to commit murder. Sidda rummaged around her quarters and came back with a familiar type of bottle and two glasses.

“Turian Brandy?” Garrus asked recognizing the smell as she poured a stingy amount in each glass, not enough to get drunk but enough to make this a little more laid back, trying to get Garrus to open up was proving to be difficult.”

She smiled as she handed him a glass. “I acquired a taste for it.” Garrus took it and nodded at her respectfully. “So…have you heard from Leena?” she asked and he groaned in mid sip. 

“Sidda, will you let it go?” he groaned. “Why are you still on this?”

“Because you’re a god awful fucking liar and I know there’s something going on,” she explained and he shook his head. 

“Let it go, Commander,” he said firmly but he wasn’t being aggressive yet. 

“Bullshit, Garrus,” she replied her tone mirroring his, “you were gonna kill Crowe if Cerrus and I hadn’t gotten there.”

He said nothing for a moment because she was completely right, he would have kill him, he still wanted to and to be honest, he would if no one stopped him. The other three as well. “Commander,” he replied after a few moments. “Leena was my partner, nothing more, nothing less.” His response was a little more difficult to read but she knew he was lying, there had to be something there. It was the way they, not just he, acted in each other’s presence. 

“You know one of these days you’ll trust me enough to tell me,” she commented and took a sip of the brandy. 

“I do trust you,” he replied and downed the rest of the contents quickly before standing. “Good night, Shepard.”

Sidda watched him leave and found herself missing Victus even more; they’d spent far too much time apart. She missed being on the Lante and being able to see him every day. She didn’t miss the daily ass kickings courtesy of Cerrus but she missed Victus the most, and Maridus and Nov as well. When this was over she planned on taking a long leave with her favorite Turian. 

**

Tali hummed to herself as she concentrated on repairing the Mako after Kaidan’s spectacular accident. She and Garrus had been working on it all day and she had effectively lost track of time. 

“Hey.” A flanged voice greeted and she smiled under the mask; that was Cerrus. She glanced from the repair console to look at him then back to what she was doing. “What are you still doing up?” he asked pulling himself in and sat down in the gunners seat. 

“Oh, still repairing the damaged systems that blew,” she replied sounding tired. 

Cerrus casually examined the interior. “Thought Garrus was helping.”

“He was. I think he went to bed hours ago,” she replied and spared another glance over to him. “Why are you up?”

Cerrus shrugged his usual answer. “Couldn’t sleep.”

“I know the feeling,” she smiled; she still couldn’t get a full night’s sleep on this ship. Cerrus simply looked her up and down as she worked. Tali didn’t mind the company especially if it was him. They both liked each other and flirted heavily. Cerrus had never been with or even attracted to another species. Tali was different, she made him laugh and feel comfortable, he had never worked so hard at flirting with a woman since Anara and that said a lot. It was a strange feeling for him since it had been so damn long since he felt this way about anyone. 

She stood and leaned over to the driver’s seat flipping a few switches bringing the self-repair system back online letting Cerrus take in her slender, curvy body. He never realized what Nov found so attractive about Asari until now. Tali brought out his hidden playful side, the side he had before he lost Anara, and snatched up the tiny Quarian pulling her onto his lap. She heard him purr and giggled as she settled on his lap. 

They had danced around a more physical relationship since his sniper rifle training. He still wanted to see her face but he refused to place her life in danger so he didn’t press. Tali didn’t mind him touching her and swiveled her hips so she was now straddling his lap and Cerrus approved placing his hands on the top of her thighs. 

“I think you need to take a break,” Cerrus stated and she felt him run his hands up her side then back down her thighs careful to not over step any bounds. 

“What do you propose I do on this ‘break’, Captain?” she teased and Cerrus chuckled. 

“Well, what do you want to do?” he played and she leaned to the left hitting the button on the main console to close the hatch. With the hatch to the Mako closed Cerrus allowed another chuckle, it was obvious they needed some privacy. Tali reached for her mask and Cerrus understood what she was doing. He grabbed her lands lightly and shook his head. “No,” he said, “you don’t have to do that for me.”

Tali smiled under the mask at how much he did care for her. He never asked her to show her face to him and that was usually the first thing people asked her. Cerrus was different, he truly cared for her. She didn’t stop the movement and continued to remove it. 

Cerrus wasn’t sure what he’d see, he’d never seen an unmasked Quarian. She removed her mask and helmet and Cerrus got a look at a woman that looked similar to a human female. Tali’s skin was pale with a slight purple tinge to it, her eyes were an iridescent slivery white, and she had long black hair with dark blue streaks pulled back into a tight braid. She was beautiful, with markings on her forehead that formed a disjointed V over each eyebrow. Her eyes were his favorite; he’d never seen eyes that almost literally glowed. 

“You’re beautiful,” he said quietly nearly mesmerized by her and wanted to put his hand on her cheek but hesitated not wanting to make her sick. 

She could say that she’d dreamed of a man like Cerrus since the first time she saw Fleet and Flotilla. Tali leaned forward and kissed him, the first time he’d been kissed was by Sidda, it was an odd experience then and it was still odd now. Cerrus moved his hands to her back and traced them down lightly before she rocked back from him. 

“Have you ever been kissed before?” she asked knowing that it wasn’t normal for Turians to kiss it just wasn’t something they did. 

Cerrus stifled the grumble. “Yes, but let’s not bring that up,” he hedged and Tali narrowed her eyes. 

“Hmmm...” Tali replied and Cerrus looked down at her hand fiddling with the fasteners on his tunic. 

Cerrus wasn’t sure how exactly to broach that topic and was pleasantly surprised when she did it for him. He looked back up at her and found those striking eyes staring back at him as she worked on opening the shirt. She knew he was a soldier and a damn good one but didn’t expect there to be so many scars on his torso. When she exposed his chest she found it littered with deep scars and atrocious looking ones at that. 

He saw her look down at them but she just traced her fingers over the long stab wound from a Salarian merc that punctured his lung four months out of the academy. Her hands went to her own suit; Cerrus left the decisions to her and allowed her to move at her own pace. Obviously she wanted to take things to the next level and he didn’t mind that idea at all. She removed her top of her suit revealing a bra and the same V pattern markings going down her neck and stopping at her collar bone. Goosebumps raised on her skin as Cerrus lightly traced a right talon over her collar bone. He got the distinct impression that she’d never done this before.

Cerrus scooped her up and moved off the seat laying her flat on the floor settling over her as things quickly escalated from there. Cerrus rocked back on his knees and shed his tunic reveal just how extensive his scarring was. The six inch scar on his left rib cage was just one of many; he had three bullet scars, two in the right and one in the left shoulder, and one jagged scar low on his left waist. He’d definitely been through the mill a few times. 

Despite his talons that were sharp enough to nick arteries he was gentle with them. He knew he could hurt her in an instant so he was careful as he helped her out of her suit he didn’t want to tear clothing or flesh. Turian females were used to the males using their claws and teeth during sex, he suspected that Sidda had dealt with the rough play and came out okay. Quarians were tougher then they looked but her real danger was him giving her an infection. 

Tali sat up and kissed his chest, the plates were tough but she kissed the scar on his ribs. The sensation of her touching him served to arouse him but as she kissed his skin he felt the warmth and wetness of her lips and that threw him to a whole new level. He encircled her waist with his hands and lightly ran his talons up her body coming to the bra that contained her breasts curling it up and off over her head. 

Tali moaned to the scraping of his teeth and he abandoned them nuzzling her neck, biting her lightly. His drive to mate was starting to overpower him, he wanted Tali and he wanted her now. She wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer to her, Cerrus responded by practically laying on her and deepening his attention to the now both sides of her neck. 

“I don’t want to hurt you, Tali,” he said quietly in her ear. The sound of his purring flanged voice was enough to get Tali completely hot and bothered. 

“You won’t,” she replied with a sweet smile as his face remained buried in the crook of her neck. “Please don’t stop.” Cerrus complied but rocked back onto his knees removing the rest of his clothing then helped Tali out of hers. He hoped no one came knocking at the Mako; if they did he’d dismember whoever it was. For now he had who he wanted, he had Tali all to himself. 

 

Cerrus woke up with the worst crick in his neck he’d ever had, Turian beds were very soft cushy memory foam that cradled their bodies. That is if they even slept lying down, most of the time they slept at an angle sitting up. The discomfort was evident as soon as she snuggled up to him but he refused to move and wake her. 

He hadn’t been wakened by Tali’s voice; instead it was the voice of a female he could barely stand. “Cerrus…” he heard in his groggy state. “Cerrus, where the hell are you?” It was Sidda’s voice coming through his comm and he groaned loudly at the pain that lingered from how he had slept. 

“Yeah, yeah, what?” he answered as Tali stirred at the noise but he indicated for her to be quiet as his comm was open. 

“We have a problem, where are you?” she asked and he grimaced as sat up letting everything stretch out. 

“I fell asleep in the Mako, what’s going on?” he asked as Tali started to put her own clothes back on, something was apparently wrong given the time. Nearly 4am by Earth’s clock which is what the Normandy ran on. 

“We have a problem. Comm room, now.” 

Cerrus nodded as Tali tossed him some of his clothes. “On my way,” he replied and shut the comm down. 

“I wonder what’s going on,” Tali commented and she quickly got back into her suit.

Cerrus grunted as he sat on the bench pulling his boots on. Any Turian with military training, which was nearly 99% of them, could have full armor on in about 60 to 90 seconds, this was just clothing so he could literally be dressed and out the door in 30 seconds if he had to. “Something catastrophic probably,” he muttered and stood after both his boots were secured. He was far too tall for the Mako and had to hunch over considerably. He watched Tali tuck her thick black hair back under the hood and heard a small cough.  
Immediately his mind raced, he shouldn’t have made love to her, nothing was properly decontaminated, she didn’t take any preventative medication, he could have put her life in danger. Tali must have read the expression on his face because she scoffed at him.

“Don’t look at me like that, I’m not going to break,” she said and he tried to say something but all that came out were protesting grunts. He fell silent as she touch his right mandible with her hand and smiled at him. “Totally worth it, Tyr,” she grinned and gave him one last kiss before putting her mask back in place. 

His worry didn’t leave, he had to be careful with her, take precautions of his own now that they had a more intimate relationship but those were thoughts for another time, right now he had to figure out what the next crisis was. 

**

Cerrus and Tali made it to the Comm Room at the same time Kaidan did and for the first time that day he didn’t look embarrassed over his little driving mishap. Instead he looked like he’d just rolled out of bed. He hadn’t shaved, he looked tired, and his hair wasn’t prim and proper like normal. 

“Where’s the fire?” he asked tiredly taking the words right out of Cerrus’ mouth as he joined the rest for what looked like an important briefing. 

“Virmire, apparently,” Sidda replied. 

“What’s going on?”

“The Council had an infiltration team out gathering intelligence; one of them was gathering intel on our favorite Spectre,” she began. 

“What did they find?” Ashley asked and Sidda shrugged. 

“They don’t know actually, a transmission was received on a frequency reserved for mission critical information, no information came through…all they got was static,” Sidda explained. 

“That’s not really much to go on, Commander,” Garrus commented and she nodded a little agreeing with him. 

“Believe me I know that,” she replied and sighed. “But if they did dig something up then we really need to have a look.”

The crew could understand that, they knew the mission and they knew what was at stake but that didn’t mean they needed to charge in blindly. “We have no idea what we’d be walking into then,” Cerrus said but of course Sidda knew that already. 

Sidda’s pause felt like forever as she nodded at Cerrus. “We still have to go.”

“Will the Council send backup?” Liara asked and Sidda shook her head with a chuckle.

“We are the backup, Doctor,” she said and sighed. 

“Commander, going into this blind is a bad idea,” Cerrus advised, “we have no idea what we’ll find so the smart move is to take some backup and go in force.”

Sidda shook her head. “The Council is not going to send any more help, we are it, Captain.”

“If the Council won’t send more help maybe you should call on a little back up of your own,” he replied and Sidda straightened now quickly finding what he was talking about.  
“He could be court martialed for helping me, Cerrus,” she said and Cerrus knew that but he knew when it came to her he’d break the rules. 

“For you he’ll risk it,” he said and she thought about it a moment. Cerrus was right, Victus had already proven that he was willing to do whatever it took to help her and protect her.  
Asking him to play back up for something they didn’t know seemed like a simple task but the Hierarchy wouldn’t be kind when they busted him for it. Cerrus had a point and she figured that it couldn’t hurt to ask, however, the moment she asked she knew he’d say yes.

“Alright, all hands on deck; Joker, set a course for Virmire but don’t execute yet, everyone else gear up and be ready to go, dismissed,” she ordered and as the room cleared she turned to the communications console, thinking. She was torn about calling on Victus or not, she didn’t know what they would find or if he would even be needed. If it was nothing, just a glitch on the channel then she didn’t want to get him into trouble for nothing. 

**

The cargo bay was busy, as it usually was before a mission, but with final repairs going on for the Mako it seemed a bit worse. Garrus and Tali were testing the Mako’s repaired systems; Kaidan had endured the ribbing about his driving skills and shouldered it well, he screwed up and he knew it. Garrus and Wrex were the instigators behind the ribbing but it was mostly Garrus. Cerrus got his shots in but after the first few he stopped and only chuckled at the rest poking fun at the unfortunate Medic.

Kaidan checked his medical kit as Cerrus and Ashley found a ‘routine’ mostly it centered around ‘you stay out of my way and I’ll stay out of yours’ when it came to attending to the weapons. Before a drop Cerrus had the same process drilled into him since boot camp when he was 15, he was pushing 36 now, and that process was to check every weapon that was going to be used on that mission, even those of your squad mates. Ashley and Wrex were really the only ones who snarled at him for it but he didn’t care, if things went sideways he could end up using one of those weapons so he just ignored them and continued. At this point during his stay on the Normandy, much like that of his regular duty on the Lante, he’d modified and calibrated every weapon to within an inch of its life modifying them so they complemented the user. The only one he didn’t touch was Garrus’ sniper rifle; the complex high-end modifications were enough to tell him that the C-Sec officer didn’t need a weapon nanny. 

He went down the line checking everyone’s typical loadout, no mistakes, no guns were going to misfire, overheat, or jam on his watch. He’d moved on from Tali’s equipment to Kaidan and took the pistol right off the medic’s hip making him pause and look up at him. 

“By all means, Captain, help yourself,” Kaidan said his tone flecked with humor. 

Cerrus check the weapon’s heat sink and then glanced down at him. “Just checking,” he commented flatly, “making sure your weapons fair better than the Mako.”

There was humor in his flat tone and Kaidan couldn’t help but snort. Cerrus had largely let it alone but every so often he showed that he had a sense of humor. “Ouch,” he replied, the amusement in his tone also clear. Cerrus slapped his left arm and moved on chuckling. 

**

Sidda had selected her team to drop in the Mako down to Virmire, apparently the paradise planet was overrun with Geth, big surprise, and where they needed to go had a lot of defenses. The solution was to drop the Mako further up the river and take out the resistance as they went. Given that Sidda didn’t know what she’d be facing she elected to take a slightly bigger team with her and a pretty even spread for talents. Cerrus, the soldier and brilliant tactician; Tali, an obvious choice to help wreck Geth; Garrus, sharpshooter and combat engineer who also basically became Sidda’s second in command during all this; and of course Kaidan, bring the Sentinel Medic who could rival Sidda in her biotics.

Cerrus quickly looked Sidda up and down as she approached the Mako; it was close to drop time so everyone who was going in the Mako had begun to file in. He never liked Sidda’s black and yellow armor, made her too much of a target but given her personality he could see why she didn’t much care. She wanted to be seen; she wanted the enemy to know that she was on the battlefield. As far as he knew N7 colors were not black and yellow, that was a decision she had made, she didn’t blend in, it gave her away and that was what he didn’t like. Her demeanor was relaxed as she almost casually approached making a final adjustment to the Sentry Interface that ran across her eyes like a visor. She carried her usual load out of rifle and pistol. He commended her in battle as she primarily used a pistol and was a damn good shot with it. 

“Any back up from the Lante?” he asked and she shook her head casually.

“Nope,” she replied coming to a stop but not looking up at him as she checked a few things on her omni-tool. 

Cerrus blinked at the one word response, a little annoyed. “Why not?”

“Because he said he couldn’t, didn’t tell me why, which means he probably can’t,” she answered and Cerrus’ jaw tightened. 

“Here’s to hoping we don’t need backup,” he muttered his tone snippy and Sidda cocked her head at him. 

“Someone’s surly this morning,” she said and didn’t let him respond to that, instead she raised her voice so it carried. “Mako Team, load up.”

Kaidan and Tali were the first in. “Sit in the back and don’t touch anything.” He heard Garrus say and shook his head; he was never going to live that down, ever. “You too.” He heard again but that must have been aimed at Sidda. 

The conversation continues as Tali climbed in. “Who’s the boss here?” Sidda asked and there was a collective snort from everyone in the area. Tali took up position in the engineer seat and Garrus was next. 

“In this thing…not yo-…” be bantered back to Sidda but stopped cold before he finished his sentence. “What happened in here?” he demanded taking in a deep sniff through the nose, the smell was familiar. 

Cerrus froze like a statue between Garrus and Sidda. “What?” Sidda asked furrowing her brow at whatever he was talking about. 

“I smell Turian,” Garrus went on, “only one thing makes that smell and I didn’t do it.” Cerrus flushed blue everywhere. Garrus looked over his shoulder to Cerrus who was obviously embarrassed and then to Tali who was trying her best to make it seem like she wasn’t even there. “In the Mako?” Garrus asked him. 

Sidda figured it out just by the way Cerrus was blushing and Tali trying to sink further into the seat. “So that’s why you were hiding in the Mako last night,” she grinned and Cerrus scowled jabbing Garrus in the side with a snarly ‘Move.’ He made a bee line for the driver’s seat snarling at Garrus when he protested and his fellow Turian backed off. 

There was laughing now and it only pissed Cerrus off more, they didn’t mean anything by it and he knew that. He never did well with embarrassment. 

“You did what in the Mako?” Kaidan asked and Cerrus just growled lowly flipping switches hard enough that they might actually break. 

Sidda was having more fun at his expense than she really should have been. Tali had said nothing but was clearly embarrassed and Cerrus had reacted exactly as she’d expected. “Apparently they got it on…probably about right where we’re sitting.”

Kaidan was both surprised and annoyed as he looked from them to Cerrus who had his back turned. “Oh, come on, really? Couldn’t have found somewhere better?” he asked and added a chuckle. He was only poking fun. “Hope you cleaned up after yourselves.”

They’d all taken their shots and now it was time to apologize for it, none of them meant anything by that and Tali knew that, on some level Cerrus knew that too. “I apologize, Tali, we don’t mean anything by it,” Sidda assured and Tali simply shrugged with a soft noise. 

“No matter,” she said and looked up toward Cerrus who was probably ignoring them by now, “he is totally worth it.” She giggled garnering a few laughs from Sidda in the Gunner seat and the other two further back. Cerrus’ embarrassment lifted a little to her words and he smiled to himself. 

“We’ve actually been wondering how long it would take you two,” Garrus added and just like that Cerrus’ mood soured again.

There was a pause as Cerrus cleared the drop with Joker. “Did anyone bet on the Mako?” Garrus asked and Kaidan answered. 

“Yeah…Joker,” he answered at the scoffs from Garrus and Sidda.

“Let’s not tell him…maybe then we can all keep our money,” she replied and Cerrus shook his head. Those bastards had a pool going for when and where he and Tali would finally mate, he thought about wringing their necks but remembered one all-important detail: this could have been worse Nov, Ruvvak, and Kalvaris could be here. This could be ten times worse and plastered all over the board the next morning. He counted his blessings where he could as Joker counted down the drop then the Mako lazily rolled off the ramp and into a freefall.


	30. Virmire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Had to reinvent the wheel with this one and come up with a way to write it without regurgitating the game. The epic blowout was written to Criminal by Disturbed.

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Thirty: Virmire

Sidda had showered already but she couldn’t shake the feeling that blood was on her hands, she could still smell it. She’d changed out of her armor and into her typical Alliance blues, her armor had been splattered with blood, human blood, and she hadn’t cleaned it yet. It had taken damage during the fighting; bullets, tech powers, biotics, and hand to hand had all put her top of the line gear through the ringer. She lost a lot on Virmire; trust, Vidinos’ pistol, her quarry…people. It was the last one that had her in a nearly catatonic state outside Medical. 

The Normandy was docked at the Citadel, the Council’s lead panned out…it wasn’t pretty but it certainly answered some questions. Showed them how much shit they were really in, upset part of Saren’s plan, and put Sidda hand to hand with the man himself. Of course now she looked like she’d gone toe to toe with a Krogan, bruising around her neck, on the left side of her face, swollen lip and jaw, black eye, and the bandaged flesh wound on her right upper arm.

“Shepard,” a voice announced pulling her eyes away from the spot on the deck that she’d been staring at for an unknown amount of time. It was Anderson, she remembered that he’d asked to see her but it was something she clearly decided to ignore. She didn’t want to drift too far from medical at the moment. Anderson judged her body language and the first thing he picked up was that she looked tired, exhausted really, the second thing was that she was obviously wrestling with the outcome of her mission to Virmire. “How is he?” he asked and sat down across from her. 

Sidda sighed heavily but didn’t make much eye contact. “Stable. Chakwas said that he lost a lot of blood but nothing vital was hit.”

Anderson was careful, Sidda didn’t look like she was ready to snap but he’d rather not be on the receiving end of her losing her damn mind. “What happened out there, Sidda?”

“I sent you the report,” she replied quietly. 

Anderson nodded, he’d read it…twice in fact. “I want to hear it from you, Sidda.”

Sidda let out a deep breath and rubbed her eyes. “We made the drop on Virmire and fought our way through Geth controlling checkpoints along the river. When we cleared the last one we found the Salarian team, I ordered the Normandy to land, which turned out to be a giant mistake,” she told him and her tone reflected irritation, not with him but with herself. He’d gotten the basics from Garrus and Pressley but wanted to know from her everything that took place. “My team and I had disabled the outlying defenses surrounding the base but when the ship landed every AA gun blanketed the airspace. If we took off we’d be blown to tiny little bits.”

Anderson listened and poured himself a cup of coffee from the pitcher that was on the table. “The Salarians?” he asked.

“They were mostly intact, fought hard, lost some people but had set up a little basecamp,” she went on. “That’s when he told us that Virmire was Saren’s main base of operations the one we found on Rothla was a satellite…testing facility, we also found out that Saren was breeding an army of Krogan to offset the Geth…apparently he didn’t have enough muscle. We had to destroy it and although Wrex disagreed he proved he’s smarter than he looks. The Salarians had converted their ships drive core into a thermonuclear weapon.”

Anderson’s eyebrows lifted. “Well, that’s one way to destroy a secret base.”

Sidda snorted. “Solid plan too…Kirahee’s smart…talked a lot though,” she commented and then went back to it. “For as solid as the plan was it was bound to be…costly. I divided my people, took Cerrus and Garrus with me as an infiltration team, sent Kaidan with the Salarians to help with the distraction, left everyone else to guard the Normandy, and…and the Chief to attend to the bomb.”

“I spoke to Garrus on the way in and I asked him about the…” he trailed off as if trying to find the right words to describe it without actually saying it, “well, what you found in the base….”

Sidda’s pause was long, tired and thoughtful. “Sovereign.” 

“Care to explain?”

~~~Virmire days earlier

Another beacon, another download, more Prothean crap force fed into her brain. The dreadful images only added to the nightmare pile she was collecting. The feelings associated with the first one on Eden Prime, Nihlus…his execution plagued her dreams, the horrific slaughter of the Protheans that took Liara to help her understand. These images were different, more pieces to the puzzle that she still couldn’t figure out. She could feel the boys behind her; Garrus no doubt worried about her well-being and Cerrus ready to pounce on any type of threat…which included her. It was a comfort really; she knew Cerrus wouldn’t hesitate if she became a threat. 

The beacon dropped her and she felt her stomach turn, she didn’t vomit though, the feelings that were associated with the images combine with the ones she had associated with Nihlus’ death were hard to overcome. She felt Garrus’ hands steady her, had to be Garrus, Cerrus would never show that kind of concern for her. “Oh, not another one,” she groaned, her head hurt, her stomach churned…all she wanted to do was hide in her quarters for a week. 

“Sidda, are you okay?” Garrus asked plenty concerned.

She took in a deep slow breath to help steady her stomach and nodded. “What’s one more download…I’m starting to feel like a computer,” she muttered and Cerrus looked to the holographic interface on the level above. 

“Shepard,” he began and gestured up toward it. It wasn’t active when they had passed it earlier, “I think that activated when you activated the beacon.” Sidda tracked what he was referring to and nodded at his observation, he was right, she’d walked to the end of that catwalk and nothing was there. 

Whatever it was, it was eerie. It was just an interface…until it spoke. 

“You are not Saren,” it said, the voice was deep, mechanical, sounding like a thousand voices speaking at once. It was alien and something that Garrus and Cerrus were creeped out by but Sidda found an air of familiarity about it. Not her memories though, this familiarity came from somewhere else. The pit in her stomach grew. 

“Who are you?” she asked suspiciously. 

“Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh, you touch my mind. Fumbling in your ignorance you are incapable of understanding,” the ‘VI’ said as the red holographic interface revealed the design of the ship that was on Eden Prime and the one that plagued her ‘memories’ from the beacons.

Garrus nervously twitched holding the assault rifle; just the voice of this ‘thing’ was enough to instill fear. “What the hell is this?” Sidda’s only inkling was the growing pit of fear within, deep down she knew what this was but to her it did not have a face. 

“There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own you cannot even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension, I am Sovereign,” it replied and Sidda swallowed hard. Sovereign was reported to be a Reaper ship that had the ability to warp the minds of those that were aboard it. 

Her heart started to thud against her chest; it was beginning to make sense. “You’re not just some Reaper relic that Saren found…you’re a real live Reaper.” Garrus and Cerrus blinked at her deduction and looked at each other, both with the same expression on their faces, just trying to grasp the implication of that. Sovereign wasn’t just a ship, it was an actual Reaper. 

“Reaper? A label given by the Protheans to give voice to their destruction, in the end what they chose to call us is irrelevant…we simply, are.”

“Condescending for a machine” Garrus thought, the Reapers were a bedtime story, a myth, a race of sentient machines that plagued the galaxy. “The Protheans vanished 50,000 years ago…how is this possible?”

“Organic life is nothing but a genetic mutation, an accident. Your lives are measured in years and decades, you wither and die. We are eternal, the pinnacle of evolution and existence. Before us, you are nothing, your extinction is inevitable. We are the end of everything,” Sovereign answered and Sidda’s mind raced with idea of how impossible this was.  
Whatever the case was, she wasn’t about to just let a single Reaper rain down it’s destruction without a fight. “Bring it on,” she hissed in defiance. 

“Confidence born of ignorance, the cycle cannot be broken,” Sovereign replied.

“What cycle?” Cerrus spoke up, his tone firm and direct. So far he didn’t put much stock in the Reaper theory, he was here to help catch Saren but clearly there was more to this. 

“The cycle has repeated itself more times than you can fathom. Organic civilizations rise, they evolve, they advance, and at the apex of their glory they are extinguished. The Protheans were not the first, they did not create the Citadel or the mass relays. They merely found them, the legacy of my kind.”

Garrus’ expression narrowed, everyone knew that the Protheans built the technology that was used today, the Citadel, the Relays, the Relay Monument on the Citadel…to say that was all wrong was like telling him that his DNA wasn’t dextro based. “You built them? Why?” he asked letting the investigator in him take over for a minute and the Reaper seemed glad to answer, he found it strange that the thing was happily answering their questions, albeit, in a condescending manner. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that…he just knew he didn’t like it. 

“Your civilization is built on the technology we provided, by using it, you develop along the paths we desire. We impose order on the chaos of organic evolution. You exist because we allow it and you will end because we demand it.” 

None of them liked the sound of that but Cerrus was the first to put it together, he wasn’t just a dumb grunt. “They’re harvesting us, letting us evolve to our most powerful before they kill us and start again,” he simplified. 

Now it was falling into place, the cycles that Sovereign referred to, the destruction of the Reapers, the images from the beacons. “Where did you come from?” she asked, she understood how screwed they were but there was no point in losing her cool now. 

“We have no beginning. We have no end. We are infinite. Millions of years after your civilizations have been eradicated we will endure.” Eradicated. That sounded ominous, they looked on them like vermin, she didn’t know the capacity or the abilities of her enemy beyond the idea that why could wipe out an entire galaxy of civilizations. 

So long as Sovereign was feeling chatty she asked the tactical question, the Reaper didn’t view them as a threat so it was probable that it would answer. “How many are you?” she asked and true enough the sentient machine answered.

“We are legion. The time of our return has come; we will darken the sky with our presence. You cannot escape your doom.”

The defiance in Sidda flared, she wasn’t going to roll over and let this Reaper have is way with the galaxy, if more were to come she was going to make things as difficult as she could for them for as long as she could. “I will beat you, you say the cycle can’t be broke, I’ll prove to you it can.”

“Your words mean nothing, as empty as your future. I am the vanguard of your destruction. This exchange is over.”

~~~

Anderson blinked several times as she explained speaking to a real live Reaper, her retelling was downright unsettling. ‘Vanguard of our destruction’, harvesting the apex civilizations, the idea that there were more of them of the same size as Sovereign was even worse, just one of those ships was going to rough enough to handle. “‘Vanguard of our destruction’ eh?” he commented and Sidda snorted.

“Ominous ain’t it?” she asked and he scoffed and gestured at her head. “Liara kicked her way around again…helped me make sense of everything, the Conduit that Saren has been searching for is the portal that the Reapers have to use to get here…I still don’t know where it is but I’m pretty sure Saren hasn’t found it yet,” she said. “Liara mentioned some architecture and flashes from a planet called Ilos.”

“Ilos is in the Terminus, only accessible through the Mu Relay,” Anderson said and Sidda understood that getting the Council to back them when it came to the Mu Relay was going to be worse than convincing them that Saren was a traitor. 

“Therein lies the rub,” she replied. “It requires passage through the Mu Relay and the Mu Relay is in the Terminus that no one has been able to find thanks to the supernova.”

Anderson nodded, he knew that getting the Council to get off their asses was going to be a bitch but they’d jump off that bridge when they got there, right now he wanted to know what happened with the rogue Spectre. “Tell me what happened with Saren?”

“We managed to get the Normandy into position and we were on our way to pull Alenko and the Salarians out of the fire, that’s when the shit hit the fan.”

~~~Virmire

The drop ship that came over head was not a good sign as Sidda and her team hugged the wall but it didn’t escape any of them that it was on course for Ashley’s position. “Chief, you have inbound,” Sidda said into her comm. 

“Skipper, keep going I can hold them off.” 

“Shepard, that’s a drop ship, there are at least a dozen or more Geth in that thing,” Cerrus said quickly. “No way she can hold them off.”

“Shut up, Cerrus, I can do it,” Ashley said but Cerrus ignored her, he could hear gunfire from her end of the comm just as she ended her sentence.

“She can’t, let me go back. I can get her out of there,” He said. 

“Commander, we’re getting overrun. We can’t hold much longer,” Kaidan’s voice was serious and she could hear the weapons fire. 

Sidda was torn; Kaidan and Kirahee’s teams were being swarmed. She was now warring with herself as to who to go back for, Kaidan and the Salarians or Ashley with the nuke that would vaporize the base. “FUCK!” she yelled in irritation stuck between the choices. Probably not the most professional thing to do but all she wanted was one mission to actually go right. 

Sidda was taking too long in Cerrus’ mind. “I’m going back,” Cerrus decided and turned to leave but heard Sidda shouted after him. 

“Stand fast!” she barked and Cerrus spun sharply, his fierce glare boring a hole through her. 

“What?” he snapped, he wasn’t going to lose someone, not even someone he didn’t care for. Ashley was a part of his team and he’d break his neck to save a member of his team.  
Choices blasted through her mind: emotional ones, she got along better with Kaidan than she did with the Chief; logical ones, she’d save more lives by saving Kaidan and she was closer to his location; then there was the tactical one, the Chief had the bomb…the thing that was going to blow this place sky high, if they lost that they were screwed. “We’re closer to Kaidan’s team than we are to her, the Chief will hold,” Sidda stated firmly, she was making a logical choice but Cerrus disagreed. 

“Williams has the bomb, we have to protect that,” Cerrus argued. 

“I can hold the position, Commander, get the L.T. and get the hell out of here,” Ashley piped up, she didn’t sound too distressed at the moment but that was sure to change. 

Cerrus couldn’t handle losing squad mates if there was something he could do to prevent it. He caused the deaths of nearly every member of his team and vowed that he’d never lose someone again. Under Victus’ guidance he realized that there was nothing he could do to ensure that he never lost anyone, the only thing he could do was do everything in his power to prevent it. “No, I’m coming back for you.”

“For God sake, Cerrus don’t be all chivalrous now,” she hissed and Cerrus headed started to head back for the lift they used earlier. It took a hit from a destroyer and was now a burning ruin, there had to be a way back down. 

“Cerrus! Get your ass back here,” Sidda barked and he ignored it. “That’s an order, Captain!” Cerrus stopped at that, he needed to try and save her but he understood the chain of command. Sidda already threatened to shoot him for disobeying an order and he remembered the last time he went off book. She nearly broke his jaw. “Chief,” Sidda began her tone one of solemn resignation. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright, Skip, just go get the L.T., I’ll make sure this bomb goes off.” 

She swallowed hard and nodded. “Let’s go,” Sidda said, her tone firm and jaw clenched tight. 

“Commander!” Cerrus shouted and she spun moving up to him. 

“NOW, Captain!” she roared as she dangerously close to losing her temper with him. “If you want to stay and succeed in committing suicide this time, fine! Garrus, let’s go.” 

Cerrus blinked, not at her roaring in his face but at her comment about suicide, he’d tried that once and it hadn’t panned out; he’d only succeeded in killing his team. “It’s okay, Cerrus,” he heard through the comm. He didn’t like Ashley but that wasn’t the point. “Thanks for trying.” His throat tightened and he jogged after Sidda and Garrus. 

It was crunch time, they hadn’t heard much on the radio from Kaidan or Kirahee, just gunfire but it was hard to determine exactly where it was coming from. Sidda’s team worked well together and they cut through the Geth resistance to reach the platform that the teams were stranded on. “Hold on, Lieutenant, we’re coming!”

They walked into a hailstorm; Geth had backed the Salarian team into a corner and began to close in. The firefight commenced between the three parties, with the addition of Sidda’s team it gave them a tactical advantage by flanking the Geth. Tech powers and biotics from Garrus and Sidda toppled the enemy, and grenades from Cerrus took care of the rest. The two Turians were able to fight their way to the other team and quickly turned the tide for them. 

Cerrus tore through the Geth vicious precision and he and Garrus got into cover with them freeing Kaidan up to tend to the wounded Capt. Rentola. There was still a good deal of Geth out there so Cerrus took over his position to pick them off. Garrus’ sniper rifle barked twice as he one shot a Destroyer with a headshot. He made a mental note to not piss him off, he was a better shot than himself, Maridus, and Ruvvak put together. He could see the biotics flying from Sidda until a warp practically landed on him.

“It’s Saren!” Garrus shouted and Sidda didn’t get much time to react as a biotic power threw her into the wall. She grunted at the feeling of the biotics spreading through her body but recovered quick enough to get back into cover and avoid fire from the Geth. 

“Deal with the Geth, I got Saren!” she barked and fired up at him quickly, her pistol didn’t have enough punch power to penetrate his barriers. The bastard had an added attraction…he had a hover craft. 

“Shepard,” Saren began as he dodged one of her warps. “I commend you…the Geth were utterly convinced the Salarians were the true threat.”

Sidda scoffed as she sucked up against the cover she had. “Glad you approve, now why don’t you step off that thing and come have a chat with me.”

“And let you undo my work? You couldn’t possibly fathom the work that I have done here.”

“You mean researching indoctrination, skipping arm and arm with Sovereign toward the destruction of the galaxy?” she hissed and examined the area; she needed to get Saren off that hovercraft and onto the deck with her. She spied a container that looked like it carried fuel or something combustible, she could ask Cerrus or Garrus to hit with a well-placed shot but from the sound of what was going on behind her they had their hands full. She sent another warp up toward Saren making sure the only real evasion direction put him over top of the tank that she wanted to blow sky high. Sure enough the hovercraft settled over the tank as Saren also sent a biotic power toward her. She was able to dodge it and mustered all she could into a shockwave burst directed toward the tank. 

The tank exploded with the a bit more force thanks to the biotics that ripped it in half. Saren’s hover craft flipped like a tossed coin, dumping the Turian onto the deck. 

The explosion drew Cerrus’ attention as a mere handful of Geth troopers remained. Something bit into the left side of his neck and he skittered back, his hand going to whatever it was. He knew a bullet wound when he felt it. One of those bastards shot got a luck shot in the neck. He didn’t realize that he’d growled and hissed enough to get Kaidan’s attention. The medic shifted over to him and for a brief moment Kaidan appeared over him, Cerrus actually saw the round that hit Kaidan…a single shot that bore into his left breast causing the Medic to topple back like he’d been jerked by a leash.

“Alenko!” he cried as he heard Garrus’ rifle speak again. He could feel the blood seeping from his neck as he rolled over and hovered over Kaidan pressing his right hand over the wound in Kaidan’s left chest. “Alenko’s hit!” he shouted but all he heard was Garrus answer with another shot. 

Sidda could hear the distinctive shots from the sniper rifle but her target was now on even ground with her. There was a reason she brought Garrus and Cerrus, they didn’t need her direction, they were both seasoned in their own right and Cerrus was an experienced commander. 

Saren picked himself up off the deck and Sidda looked him up and down, a threat assessment. Saren was a biotic, a capable strategist, and last but not least the best Spectre in the whole damn galaxy, renegade or not. The arm she’d noticed on Eden Prime bore a striking resemblance to that of a Geth limb…what in the hell had they done to him or what had he let them do to him? “Isn’t subjugation preferable to extinction?” he asked and she stopped short.

Sidda couldn’t help but furrow her brow; no sane Turian would ever say that. Saren was so far gone it was almost sad, with as much time as he’d spent around Reaper technology he was obviously indoctrinated. “What the hell are you talking about?” she snarled loudly. “The Reapers are going to destroy us all and you are helping them. You’ve been indoctrinated and you don’t even realize it.”

“The more control Sovereign exerts the less useful I become,” he said sending more biotics her way causing her scramble out of the way. He fired at her with the pistol making her duck and roll to avoid it, the continuous fire knocked out her shields and she felt a round cut though the armor of her right upper arm. She staggered the other direction dropping her pistol and it slid off the platform. 

After recovering she turned on him reverting to strict hand to hand, every kick and punch was augmented with biotics. Saren was a tough son of a bitch but he didn’t use his left arm so that was a weakness, on the other hand that side was incredible strong and durable. She got behind Saren and moved lightning fast, employing her now unique mix of Turian and Human fighting styles. Sidda never stood still enough for him, his biotics were impressive and he was still armed so she stayed behind him as well as she could. Her right fist glowed blue as she drove a hard punch into his lower right back, he hissed and growled bring his right arm around to elbow the pest in the side of the head. Sidda barely blocked it and stripped the pistol but found her arm now caught by his and he yanked her around. When he let her go she clung to his arm forcing him to bring her right back within striking distance. Another punch from her connected with his jaw, again assisted with biotics. The Turian grunted and got his hand free from her returning the favor. 

Sidda saw stars for a moment and felt her mouth fill with blood as she rolled away from him. She wasn’t just going to beat him; she was going to kill him. She didn’t care how he got back to the Citadel, the Council was a little vague on that, all she could think of was Nihlus and witnessing his death was the driving force for her. On her feet now she closed the distance between them in a quick sprint, dropping to her knees sliding on the platform under whatever biotic he was conjuring and landed where she needed to be, behind him.  
Saren growled loudly as she kneed him in the back with a biotic assist, he staggered forward which wasn’t her plan, she’d intended to him knock him forward onto his face but he was too controlled for that. He roared at her, spun and she dropped him with a swift sweep from the back. The big Turian slammed onto his back and she got back to her feet. 

“You were a Spectre, the best, and you threw it all away, you murdered your protégé. You’re indoctrinated!” she roared at him venting the sheer anger on him finally. She was enraged with him, she’d been a Spectre for a fraction of the time he had and was disgusted and appalled with him. 

Saren growled loudly at the pesky Human he’d clearly underestimated and as Sidda’s body glowed a brilliant blue, he saw the Warp coming. She let it fly and Saren blocked it with a barrier causing a biotic explosion with enough force to knock Sidda head over heels back. It dazed her and she laid flat for a moment trying to recover; Saren got the last word with that match. His shadow loomed over her and he grabbed her throat picking her up and holding her at least a foot off the ground. It took Sidda a moment to realize that she was almost dangling over the edge of the platform. 

“I will not let you undo my work,” he growled fiercely as she felt his fingers squeeze. 

“Look at what they’ve done to you,” she managed out as it had become hard to speak, she couldn’t move her jaw and the space her throat had was shrinking rapidly. “We don’t have to fight…,” she added as the struggle to breathe and talk worsened, “help me stop this. We can still stop this.”

“I no longer believe that,” he answered and though his words showed his confidence his eyes didn’t. He was still in there, still a Turian in control of at least part of himself. Her world was starting to close in on itself as he slowly squeezed the life from her and then…she heard it…the familiar bark of a sniper rifle. 

Garrus could hear the commotion going on behind him, a few Salarians had moved up to help Cerrus with Kaidan who had been hit with what sounded like a pretty serious wound. Kirahee had moved past Garrus after he’d picked off the remaining Geth and looked down range for any sign of Sidda and Saren. They’d heard a biotic explosion but didn’t see either of them. 

“End of the platform,” Kirahee called out and Garrus sighted down with the scope, he saw Saren holding Sidda by the throat as high as his arm length would allow. Things went still around him as he focused on the target. Saren had his back to him and Garrus hunted for a shot, the head was obvious but given the modification to both his rifle and ammo the likelihood the round would penetrate clean through was extremely high in which case it would hit Sidda in the chest and probably kill her. His crosshairs drifted lower to the shoulders and back, it was clear that he needed to wing him, if his round went clean through it would catch Sidda in the side below the ribcage. That was much better than a large bore high velocity to the chest. He exhaled and fired. Saren’s shields and barriers died a silent death as the round ripped into Saren’s right upper back and he dropped Sidda. He panicked a moment as it seemed like she fell through the floor but was able to grapple her way back onto the deck, Saren barely kept his feet but dropped off the edge to be rescued by his hovercraft and sailed off into the distance. He hadn’t even noticed that the craft was no longer over turned where it finally landed after the explosion. 

Sidda jogged back to them with the intention of giving Garrus the biggest wettest kiss she could muster but instead found more of a problem, there was plenty wounded but the obvious ones were Rentola and Kaidan. 

“Shepard!” Cerrus roared as he apparently demanded her presence. 

Blood was everywhere under Kaidan, the wound was centered on his left breast just below his collar bone. Cerrus was holding significant pressure on it with his right hand but also hold his own neck with his left. Kaidan was pale and not moving when she dropped to her knees across from Cerrus. 

“Kaidan? Kaidan, can you hear me?” she demanded slapping his cheek lightly to bring him around. The medic stirred as Sidda looked to Cerrus. “Are you alright?” she asked, the question directed toward him as she started to rummage through Kaidan’s medical kit. 

“I’m fine,” he growled his wound didn’t seem serious; he’d maintained manual pressure on it and hadn’t passed out yet so he figured that the round didn’t hit anything vital on its passage through. 

The Normandy arrived as Sidda applied a very generous amount of Medigel to Kaidan’s entry wound and took over holding pressure from Cerrus as everyone who couldn’t walk was picked up and put on the Normandy’s open ramp. They had to beat feet quickly or they were going to become a part of the atmosphere. 

“Joker, we’re in, get us out of here,” Sidda ordered sharply as she settled back down on her knees holding steady pressure to Kaidan’s still bleeding wound. “And get Chakwas down here, multiple wounded.”

She ignored Joker’s acknowledgement as she felt the subtle movement of the ship beneath her. It accelerated quickly but the fact that she’d left the Chief behind did not escape her. “I’m sorry, Gunny,” She thought to herself as medical teams arrived along with Liara, Wrex, and Tali. 

~~~

“I left a teammate to die on that rock,” she said to Anderson while her mentor simply listened. “According to some I made the wrong decision, ‘a tactically bad decision that could have endangered the outcome of the mission’,” she finished sounding as if she was quoting someone. Cerrus had made his opinion clear but she told him to take a flying leap she was in command not him. The Turian was a puzzle; he liked Kaidan more than Ashley yet was apparently okay with sacrificing his friend to protect the bomb. 

Anderson wasn’t there so he didn’t have any room to sit back and judge, he trusted Sidda’s judgement; she was a fine officer and natural leader. “You did what you had to, Shepard.”

She scoffed and shook her head. “I wish people would stop saying that, because the more I hear it less I believe it,” she said sharply and Anderson sighed, the memory of her sitting in Anderson’s place talking to Nov after he lost Tobius and Zek came to mind; now she understood how he felt. “We need to get the Council onboard with this, it’s only a matter of time before they attack the Citadel and with Sovereign heading that fleet of Geth…once Saren finds what he wants that’ll be all she wrote.”

“That might take some convincing,” Anderson sighed, the Council was about as narrow-minded as they came; they barely believed that Saren was a traitor, to tell them that a mythological sentient race of machines was back to harvest organic life would be a hard pill for them to swallow. 

“Well, I’m not gonna hand over the galaxy because they’re too stupid to think outside the box,” she said and he shrugged. 

“We’ll talk to the Council; Udina might have some sway over them,” he offered and Sidda said nothing. Udina had his uses but so far she wasn’t truly sure he was an ally. There was something that she didn’t like about him, something she didn’t trust. Anderson stood while Sidda remained where she was. “I’ll have Udina assemble the Council, you meet us there.”

She nodded at him and watched him leave taking a few minutes before she got up from the table and headed off. Chatting with the Council was something she had to mentally prepare for, Tevos was the typical narrow-minded Asari, Valern was also the typical Salarian, they were inconsequential to her…it was Sparatus that she could potentially get to see the threat for what it was. 

**

To say Cerrus had been quiet since they’d left Saren’s base a smoldering ruin was an understatement. He was quiet anyway but this was excessive even for him. He had an argument with Sidda outside the medical bay as he gave her a piece of his mind. He didn’t agree with how the mission ended, she lost Saren, she sacrificed one of her own, she put the mission in jeopardy by aiding Kaidan and Kirahee, Ashely clearly was able to hold her position and protect the bomb but if she hadn’t they could have lost everything. 

He was busily cleaning the blood off his armor, his blood and Kaidan’s blood. Chakwas commended him on his constant pressure on the wound, Kaidan had lost a considerable amount of blood but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t fix. There was a bandage covering the left side of his neck, under it was a slow healing wound coated with antibiotic salve. It was a badly healing scar that had been initially treated with medigel, now he was probably going to have a rather unsightly scar to add to his collection. It was a small price to pay, after getting onto the Normandy he all most passed out; apparently he’d lost more blood than he thought. 

He ignored Sidda as she appeared next to him carrying her armor that smelled of human blood. “Can you make sure there’s no lasting damage?” she asked and Cerrus growled at her. 

“What do I look like your fucking tailor?” he growled harshly and Sidda huffed, obviously he was still sour about multiple aspects of the mission. 

“You know, I don’t get you,” she began sounding irritated with him, “you always preach about the ‘mission’, and duty, and command….I had to make the hard choice and I made it.”

Cerrus growled louder and stepped closer to her getting into her face. “Well, you made the wrong one!” he barked loudly, there was a clear rumble in his throat as he kept growling at her. 

Sidda gave him a sharp shove backward, it didn’t push him far but it sent the clear message to back off. “Get out of my face,” she snarled back. “I am not gonna go through this with you again. I made a decision and I don’t give a flying fuck if Cerrus the Great disagrees, deal with it.”

“I may not have liked the Chief but that is not the point. Tactically, it was the better decision. The decision you made jeopardized the entire mission, do you realize what could have happened if the Chief hadn’t held her position?” he continued and Sidda was already tired of this same circular argument. 

Sidda growled, irritated. “I do not need tactical advice from a man who led his team to their deaths because he wanted to commit suicide.” Cerrus’ temper flared, offended by her persistent use of his worst mistake, and punched her in the mouth. The hit wasn’t hard enough knock her out or knock her down but it did set her off balance just enough to take a half step back with a grunt. Blood filled her mouth and she took a moment as Cerrus took one step closer to her holding up his right forefinger. “That is the last time you use that against me. Do it again and I will kill you where you stand, do I make myself clear, Commander?” 

Sidda got the message and wiped the blood from her mouth on her hand. “Fine. Fix my armor…I have to go talk to the council,” she didn’t feel like going a few rounds with him and, in hindsight, he was right she did use a glaring mistake from his past against him and it was over the line.

Cerrus’ fist tightened and he glared at her as she turned from him and left alone. He couldn’t wait to get off this ship. Sidda wasn’t a bad commander, she was actually very good but when they clashed it felt like he was in hell. He was stuck on this ship until it was over, if he left or stayed on the Citadel Victus would whoop his ass for disobeying orders.  
People who judged him for the incident with Blackwatch still called him a coward, if he left mid mission it would only get worse. Tali was his only saving grace, he’d never leave her.

**

The only Council member that looked even remotely concerned about Sidda’s appearance was Sparatus; the Turian had a better understanding of her than the rest did. He’d read reports from her mission on the Lante but it didn’t mean that he took everything she said on faith. He knew what kind of soldier she was. Sidda had come back from Virmire looking like she’d been through the mill a few times with a report that was worrisome at best. 

“Whoa. Whoa, whoa, back up…a blockade? That’s it?” she asked, there was no why in hell a blockade would do a damn thing against Sovereign except irritate it. “A blockade is not going to stop Sovereign it’s a Reaper for Christ sake.”

“Commander, you have to understand, Saren is a threat we can recognize,” Tevos said and Sidda shook her head. “If he and the Geth are foolish enough to attack the Citadel we have more than enough defenses.”

“Well, you’re gonna recognize the threat when it shows up on your doorstep. Don’t be stupid, when Saren shows up with the full force of his Geth at his back and Sovereign leading the charge a blockade isn’t gonna do squat,” she replied and looked to Sparatus who had been curiously quiet the whole time. “Sparatus, you read the report?” she asked and got a single nod from him. “I’m not making this stuff up, Sovereign’s real and you need to be prepared. Send the fleet with me to Ilos and I’ll stop Saren before he finds the Conduit.”

Sparatus was quiet for a moment as he took in what she said. “Sending the fleet into the Terminus would be considered an act of war,” he said finally and Sidda’s expression narrowed. 

“So creating a blockade is the answer? Wait for them to come to you? Get your ass handed to you in the process?” she snarked back and Udina turned toward her. 

“Easy, Commander now is the time for discretion.” Udina said and Sidda’s brown furrowed. “Saren has been exposed, now he is no longer a threat.”

“Then let me got to Ilos, one ship in stealth mode…I can be descreet,” she suggested but was met with a scoff from Sparatus. 

“You detonated a nuclear device on Virmire,” he scolded. “I wouldn’t call that discreet.”

“I destroyed a Krogan Breeding facility…somehow I knew a firecracker just wasn’t gonna cut it.” She defended and they had to admit, taking out the Krogan was a huge win. Saren with an army of Krogan and Geth would be disastrous on countless levels. 

“Commander, we have the situation well in hand, we cannot send you to Ilos on a whim,” Tevos began, “You say the Reapers are the real threat but only you have seen them and even then it was only in a vision, we will not invade the Terminus simply because you tell us to.”

It was getting harder and harder for Sidda not to blow up on all three of them; she scoffed loudly like she was trying to stifle a sarcastic laugh and shrugged wildly. “If Saren gets ahold of the Conduit we’re all screwed…case closed. I don’t know what the hell it is or does but I’d really rather find out before he does.” 

Her argument died a silent death as her warnings bounced off the Council, narrow-minded fools. “Ambassador, I get the feeling that the Commander isn’t willing to let this go,” Sparatus said and Sidda didn’t bother to hide it. She’d gnaw on this until someone listened. 

“Commander, be careful…,” Udina warned, “you’ve helped Humanity make great strides in the galactic community but now you’re becoming more trouble than you’re worth.”  
Sidda blinked, now she knew what it felt like to be stabbed in the back. “You, slimy, son of a-…”

“It’s just politics, Commander, you’ve done your job now let me do mine,” he replied sharply as he moved ahead of her. 

“And which job is that?” she snorted though her tone said she wasn’t being jovial about this. “Stabbing me in the back, sticking your head in the sand just like them, or kissing their ass? I’m a little fuzzy on which ‘job’ you mean.”

Udina ignored her snappy comment. “Until further notice, the Normandy is grounded. We’ve locked out all operational codes. Thank you for your service but now it is time for you to leave.”

A billion things ran through her mind, at the forefront was Ashley, she sacrificed one of her people on Virmire to stop Saren and she was going to be damned if she let that be in vain. Udina sold her out; she saw that coming like an atom bomb, the Councilor she thought might be able to see reason was as stubborn as every other Turian she’d ever met.  
Saren was on Ilos right now tearing the planet apart to find the Conduit and she was grounded by a fucking politician. “Fuck you, Udina,” she hissed loudly so the obscenity could hang there as she stormed out. She wasn’t going to let Ashley’s death be in vain and she wasn’t about to let Saren and Sovereign win. 

**

Garrus wasn’t exactly sure what made the noise in the Rec Room but he followed the sound. It sounded liked someone threw something across the room; metal on the metal, and whatever it was now clattered on the deck. “Sidda?” he questioned seeing her facing her locker and noting that it seemed to be a metal cup that she threw. He knew she’d gone to talk to the Council and based on how she was acting it didn’t go so well. “How’d it go with the Council?”

She scoffed a disgusted, irritated noise. “They grounded us,” she replied and Garrus blinked. 

“Why?” he blurted. “What happened?”

“Well, for one, they’re fucking idiots…they don’t want me to go to Ilos and start a full scale war with the Terminus, they don’t believe the Reapers are a threat, they don’t believe the Conduit exists so they are content to sit on their ass and wait to die,” she snapped back, she wasn’t angry with him and he knew that. She was frustrated with the Council’s crap and that was something he whole heartedly understood. 

“You said ‘for one’, what’s the rest?” he pressed. 

Sidda grunted. “Udina,” she growled as she thought of what she wanted to do that smarmy politician. “that motherfucker sold me out…he’s the one who grounded me when I wouldn’t play ball and make believe the Council has Saren contained with a measly blockade. He locked out all operation codes, we are stuck.”

Garrus had moved over to the now still cup that she’d thrown and picked it up, it hadn’t escaped him that she treated him like her second in command even though it was clear that Pressley was the ship’s XO and Kaidan should be her XO when it came to the teams. He was flattered and proud, she trusted him and they really barely knew each other. He protected her outside Chora’s Den from the assassin without even a question and now he was convinced that got his foot in the door. Then there was Virmire, he saved her life and she had already thanked him about a dozen times for it. He hadn’t really had too much experience with Humans who accepted Turians as readily as she had. “There are ways around a lockdown, Sidda,” he commented as he fiddled with the cup. “Most of them illegal of course.”

Sidda chuckled lightly and shook her head with a smile. “You know, for a cop you do like breaking the law,” she said and Garrus shrugged slightly with a chuckle of his own.

“Sorry to interrupt, Commander,” Joker chimed in through the ship’s comm system. “I got a note from Capt. Anderson, wants you to meet him at Flux.”

“Speaking of illegal activity,” Garrus commented dryly and received another chuckle from her as she patted his chest on her way past him. 

“Come on, Vakarian, let’s go.”


	31. Grand Theft Normandy

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Thirty One: Grand Theft Normandy

The Normandy raced through space as fast as it could under FTL; Joker was following the coordinates for the Mu Relay and had told Sidda that it would take a few hours to get there. This was all taking too long but Sidda felt strangely at peace with it all. She hadn’t been at peace with anything since the whole mess began. She’d taken things into her own hands more than once, disobeyed orders, bent, broke, and totally obliterated rules, told the Council to shove it, participated in a conspiracy, and committed grand theft. If she came out of this without being court-maritaled she’d die of shock. 

The screen before her changed to her favorite Turian, she couldn’t wait to actually see him again, and actually spend time without worry about the renegade Spectre she was chasing. “What happened to you?” Victus asked pausing a second between each word as he saw Sidda’s battered face on the monitor. 

Sidda sighed heavily and really only had one answer, he wasn’t going to like it, but there wasn’t much she could do about it now. “Saren happened.”

Victus blinked as he leaned closer to the monitor, clearly concerned about that explanation. “You found him?” he asked with the hope in his voice, assuming she’d called to tell him that all of this was over. 

Sidda gave him a long nod, he was right but it wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “And lost him,” she answered. Victus’ expression narrowed, she had him and then lost him. He was about to ask how but Sidda beat him to it. “Found him on Virmire…an STG team cornered him and…he cornered them. I found him, we had…words, he got away, and I turned his base into a thermonuclear campfire.”

Victus’ expression switched from concern to confusion, given her attitude about her pursuit of Saren up to now he was a little perplexed with her current attitude. “Uhh, Sid,” he began, “somehow I thought you’d be a little bit more upset about losing the guy you’ve been chasing for weeks.” 

Sidda shrugged, he wasn’t wrong. “Well, I was, but now I’m cruising around in a stolen warship so I’ve kinda thrown everything out.”

Victus sat back and cocked his head confused a lot more now. “A stolen what? What is going on out there?”

“It’s a…miscommunication between me, Udina, and the Council,” she replied with a sigh, this was her way of dealing with the mother of all hornet’s nests she kicked. “They told me I couldn’t go to Ilos to find Saren, I called them idiots, they grounded me, and so I stole the prototype.”

Victus was playing catch up and he was very confused, this wasn’t how he imagined her mission to catch Saren to go, he certainly didn’t expect Sidda to be so jovial about having him and then losing him all in the same day. “Sid…Ilos…what is going on?”

“It is a long story, Adrien, which probably ends with me being court-martialed,” she said and Victus was growing irritated with coy, humorous responses. 

“Try me,” he growled showing his irritation. 

Sidda snorted at his tone, he had a sense of humor to a point, and fencing with him only got her so far before it pissed him off. “Long story short; Ilos is Saren’s next stop, now I kinda want to stop him before he gets to the Conduit and screws us all; it required me to ‘liberate’ the Normandy with my commanding officer’s blessing,” she explained and Victus’ expression narrowed more as he remembered his history.

“Ilos requires the Mu Relay…,” he said and Sidda nodded, she already knew that and he was still trying to figure that out, “How…?”

“More Prothean crap that Liara was able to sort out, Conduit’s on Ilos and we know how to get there,” she said and Victus really didn’t like this and the protectiveness in him came out in full force.

“Sid, I don’t like this…Saren has a head start on you and probably has all of his Geth with him,” he said and she shrugged slightly.

“Let’s not forget about Sovereign,…a real live Reaper leftover from the last cycle,” she added dryly and Victus’ paused as he blinked several times.

“Alright, that’s it, I’m coming with you,” he decided and she shook her head with a slight chuckle. “We’ll back you up.”

Sidda appreciated his sentiment. “Adrien, I appreciate that but the Normandy can run silent…the Lante can’t.” He reluctantly understood. “I do have something else to ask of you though. The Council seems to think a blockade will stop Saren and his evil plan, but there’s no way that’ll work. With the Geth and Sovereign they’ll just walk right through them.”

“So, what do you want me to do?” he asked. 

“He’s going to attack the Citadel I just don’t know when…I’ve put Hackett on alert and he’s at Arcturus,” she said and Victus continued to listen. “The Citadel is convinced their blockade is enough but they’re wrong, if I contact them they’ll try to ground me again.”

“Send me whatever information you have…I’ll see what I can do to sway Sparatus and the others, at the very least I can bring a frigate to the fight if there is one,” he said and she let a smile spread across her face, they thought alike…most of the time, and it was proven just now. 

“There will be one…trust me,” she said and he nodded. 

He didn’t like her cavalier attitude; it was strange…almost like she was looking at this as if it were a game now, a stark contrast to the woman who was ready to kill anyone who got in her path when they assaulted Rothla. “Sid…,” he began but abruptly stopped talking. “I don’t like this…you have no idea what you’re going to find on Ilos, no one does…no one’s been there for who knows how long.”

Sidda understood his concern; she had reached the acceptance stage…that was what she’d figured. “I know,” she replied quietly and gave him a smile that was meant to reassure. “Someone’s gotta do it though,…and I’m the one who has all the Prothean crap in my head.” 

Victus’ jaw tightened. “Just be careful.” 

She gave him another smile and a nod. “I will…see you on the other side,” she told him and watched him stiffen, uncomfortable. 

“Do not say that, Siddalee,” he growled and used her full name, words like that were bad luck, her mission was already dangerous and she didn’t need to tempt fate. The door chimed in her quarters and derailed the tense conversation. 

Sidda was a little uncomfortable now that the conversation had taken a morbid turn. “I gotta go, Adrien,” she said over top of his protesting, he didn’t like her mindset going into something like this and tried to keep talking to her. “I love you, I gotta go,” she finished and cut the link off sitting back in the chair with a sigh. “‘See you on the other side.’?” she repeated out loud, she couldn’t believe she said that to him. “Yeah…because that won’t make him come running to stop me from doing something stupid,” she said to the blank screen as the chime went off again. 

Kaidan was moving gingerly. He’d been shot before but nothing quite like this, his left arm was in a sling and it hurt to move. His armor had slowed the round but failed to seal and apply the medigel properly, Cerrus’ steady pressure hadn’t helped him stay conscious but nothing vital was hit. He’d been summoned to Sidda’s quarters when he was feeling up to it. With all the hoopla he’d heard lately he had a feeling she wanted to talk to him about what their next step was. 

“Hey,” Sidda greeted with a smile as Kaidan walked into her quarters, “look who’s up.”

Kaidan wanted to shrug but decided against it, he tried that once in Medical and it didn’t end well. “Seems like I’ve missed a lot,” he said and she chuckled. “You stole the Normandy?” 

“Kinda had to…we know where Saren is going. The Conduit is on Ilos we just need to get there first,” she said and he grimaced trying to figure out if he wanted to sit or stand, they both hurt so it didn’t matter much.

“So you stole an Alliance ship?” he asked and Sidda nodded. 

“With Anderson’s blessing…don’t worry, any repercussions will land on me not anyone else,” She said and he shook his head. He wasn’t questioning her motives, he felt like he was to blame for the outcome and for the loss of team member; he had to be told that Ashley died, that the beacon on Virmire was the final piece of the puzzle that led them to the destination where they could finally stop Saren and his plan. He had to be told about talking to a real live Reaper, Sovereign was an uncomfortable thought. 

“I didn’t mean that, Commander,” he said quietly. “I just…I don’t know.”

“None of this was your fault, Kaidan,” she said with a sympathetic expression. 

Sidda saw right through him and suddenly he felt uncomfortable. “You saved me instead of Ash.”

“We were closer to your position. Getting back to Ash would have taken too long for us to make a difference. I made a decision and I chose your team,” she rationalized and he nodded at that, it didn’t make him feel any better about it. He was alive and she wasn’t, he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. “So we’re in route to Ilos, I’ve sent a transmission to Hackett apprising him of the situation and brought Adrien in on the loop to see if we can get some support from the Turians,” she explained and he was quiet. “You can’t go with me but I’m leaving you in command, I don’t know what the hell we’re gonna find on Ilos but if I’m leaving the ship you’re in command.”

Kaidan blinked, Pressley was her second in command. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Now, I don’t know what the Conduit is but I’ll bet my combat pay that once he finds it his next step is going to be attacking the Citadel,” she explained. “Every inkling I have from those damn beacons say that station is the key to whatever they are going to do.” 

She was driving at something, he could tell. “What do you want me to do?”

Truthfully, Sidda wouldn’t know until she got to the lost planet but she had a standing plan. “Anything goes sideways or you lose contact with us…permanently…get to Arcturus, talk to Hackett, that’s where I sent Adrien too. Rally the Alliance and protect the Citadel.”

Kaidan nodded sharply. “Understood.”

**

Victus really didn’t like the way that conversation ended but there was nothing he could do about it now. Without the coordinates to the Mu Relay it’d be like finding a needle in a haystack so however grudgingly he did what Sidda asked. He browsed through the information she sent and scratched his head; he hadn’t gotten a full briefing about her mission and what she had found along the way until he read her very rough draft report of her mission thus far. The beacons, the Protheans, the Reapers…it was all hard to believe even as he read it. The readings taken from the Normandy on the Geth ships and sensor data on the Reaper would be handy if it ever came up for a fight. After what was certainly an interesting read he headed to the CIC in search of his XO. 

“Damar,” He called and approached him handing him the datapad. Maridus turned to him and took the pad. “I want a tactical analysis for this as soon as possible, Geth ships and the Reaper.”

“Get me Sparatus,” he ordered with sigh, he didn’t want to talk with him because he knew how this was going to go. He waited for comms to hook into a comm buoy and then waited longer for Sparatus’ assistant to get the Councilor on the line. 

“General,” Sparatus greeted his tone tight, “what can I do for you?”

“Councilor, we need to talk,” he began. 

“About what?”

“Shepard and the warning she gave you…a warning that you’re ignoring,” the General’s accusation was blunt…very blunt. 

Sparatus’ expression narrowed. “Your relationship with Shepard has done exactly as I expected. She’s drug you into her paranoia…you could be court-martialed for acting outside Palaven’s authority.” 

Victus ignored all but the first part, sure he could be court-martialed but that was the least of his worries. “My relationship with the Commander has no bearing on this, Sparatus, she’s right and you’re wrong.”

Maridus’ eyes flicked from Vicuts to the screen and back again, Victus had no reservations on giving people a piece of his mind. He’d gone toe to toe with the Primarch on several occasions, fought with every superior he’d ever had, and had scrapped with the Council on occasion too. It was always fun to watch. 

“Mind your tone, General,” Sparatus warned. 

“You have backed yourself into a corner, if the station is attacked you won’t be able to hold it,” He said sternly. 

“You have no proof, General, neither does she. She stole an Alliance warship while it was on lockdown.” He replied harshly. “All this talk about Saren being the renegade Spectre…what is Shepard?”

Victus’ mandibles clicked together, the comparison angered him. “Do not compare-…,” he began to snarl and then got ahold of himself. He was angry but rather than erupting on the Councilor he kept it together. “Think about the repercussions if you’re wrong, Sparatus,” he growled and motioned to the comm officer to cut the link. He gripped the console letting his anger simmer down, he didn’t like Sidda being compared to Saren, she was nothing like him. “Anyone remember when he was a very good officer?”

Maridus shrugged. “That was a very long time ago, Sir,” he said and he stood up straight with a deep cleansing sigh. 

“I want that tactical analysis as soon as possible. Zara, take us to Arcturus,” he ordered and Maridus gave him a curious expression. 

“Why are we going to Arcturus?” he asked fiddling with the pad in is hands. It was a little unusual for a Turian ship to be going to the Alliance’s top station.

“Because Sidda asked me to,” he answered quickly and his first officer gave him a single nod before moving off to do what was asked of him. 

**

Most of Sidda’s cobbled together Saren hunting crew was on deck to view Ilos; this was a planet that had been lost for centuries. Countless expeditions had been devised to find the lost Prothean planet but none of them succeeded or at the very least got off the ground. Now, here they were, a lone Alliance warship being spat out of a relay that had long been lost. 

“Whoa,” Sidda commented at number of ships that came up on the scope. “Are the stealth systems engaged?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am, so long as they don’t do a visual we won’t be detected,” Joker replied but had to admit the number of Geth ships was a little unsettling. 

“My God, look at that,…a nearly untouched Prothean planet,” Sidda added the awe in her voice was hard to miss. 

Joker scoffed loudly. “Keyword, nearly, Saren beat us here.” He refocused on the controls before him.

“Can you put us down anywhere?” she asked and Pressley shook his head and told her that the closest place with enough room to land the frigate was too far to make it on foot before Saren had too much of a head start on them. “Drop us in the Mako then.”

“Negative, Commander, there’s no adequate drop zones.” Pressley reported. “Nearest I can find is 20 meters.” Sidda sighed and shook her head slightly. “Mr. Negative.” 

A 20 meter drop zone was a huge reduction from the 100 meters needed for a safe drop; the Normandy needed to be spot on with trajectory and the Mako driver needed to hit the brakes and thrusters as quickly as possible to stop in time before they crashed face first into a building. “Joker?”

“I can do it,” the pilot replied and Sidda nodded, she didn’t need anything else from him. If he said he could do it, she trusted him. 

“Cerrus, Garrus, Wrex, gear up…Joker; drop us right on that bastard’s head,” Sidda said as her team turned to leave before she really finished her sentence. “Kaidan, ship is yours.” 

**

Kaidan decided that he really didn’t like being left behind, the Normandy screamed through the atmosphere, deposited the Mako and miraculously Garrus got the Mako stopped just feet from the building they nearly careened into. Now, Kaidan was twiddling his thumbs pacing on deck waiting, wondering, listening, as the Normandy tried to remain a fly on the wall in stealth mode. He officially hated it. 

His pacing was aggravating the CIC crew but he ignored the irritated expressions and Pressley’s snarky attitude. It wasn’t that he was angry for having to answer to Kaidan at the moment but it was the hurry up and wait that they were in the middle of that had him and Kaidan on edge. 

“Hey,” Tali greeted bringing him out of his pacing trance, “any word?” she asked and Kaidan looked down at her shaking his head sharply. 

“Not yet,” he said quietly, the waiting was the worst part. He realized that he wasn’t the only one waiting impatiently; Tali apparently now had a vested interest, more so then when she started. Cerrus and Tali were crappy at keeping their relationship a secret, the whole ship saw it and Kaidan actually smiled to himself. 

It had been nearly a half hour as the little frigate silently drifted along in orbit waiting to hear something from the Mako team. So far they remained undetected, no one looked out a view port and made visual contact with them…this muscle car of the stars was paying for itself, despite all the negativity, the hoopla, and money it took to design this ship she was the perfect thing for the job. No other ship could run silent like this, be right under the enemies nose and still not be detected. The SSV Normandy, the most badass little ship in the Alliance Navy. 

After what felt like hours, in reality only about 40 minutes, of waiting in uncomfortable silence Joker declared movement. It was disconcerting watching the Geth ships high-tail it for the Relay leaving them behind, it was a bad feeling to be honest. Saren must have found something and Kaidan still hadn’t heard anything from Sidda. He was getting nervous; he didn’t like the silence…not this type of nervous, uncomfortable silence that was permeating the ship. 

“Normandy,” Sidda’s voice crackled through, it was distorted but that didn’t stop Kaidan from practically pouncing on the comm. “Normandy, do you copy?”

Kaidan winced at his sharp movement but answered. “Commander, we read you go ahead.”

“The Conduit is a….elay to…Citadel. Get to…ation and rally…Alliance.” The words were garbled but Kaidan got the gist.

“A relay to the Citadel?” Pressley repeated. “We need to go there…warn them.”

Kaidan shook his head. “No,” he said quickly, “we go there they won’t listen and try to ground us again. If they are all heading to the Citadel, the defense fleet is going to need a lot of backup. Take us to Arcturus we gotta call Hackett.” His order was decisive and confident, no one, not even Pressley, questioned it. 

The Normandy was spat out of the relay and screamed to the Alliance station, Hackett took Sidda’s warning to heart as the entirety of the Fifth Fleet crowded the space. Kaidan’s arm hurt, he’d spent too much time moving around, pacing, not paying attention to the complaining wound. He bottled it up and moved with purpose to the comm room. He was doing exactly what Sidda had ordered him to do. He needed to contact Hackett and Victus; nothing she said told him that he couldn’t do that at the same time. He had the comm officer hail the Turian warship and call up Hackett as well. 

The hologram of Victus appeared before him. “General,” Kaidan nodded and Victus’ eyes narrowed, he expected to see Sidda not one of her Lieutenant’s that he vaguely remembered; he was a part of Sidda’s team, he knew that, “my name is Lt. Alenko.”

“Where’s Shepard?” Victus asked directly as he quickly sized the young human up. Alenko, he was the Sentinel, the Medic but the last time he saw Kaidan his arm wasn’t in a sling, apparently life on the Normandy was a bit rough. He couldn’t hide the worry and wanted to know that Sidda was safe and sound. 

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly and the last member to the party flickered in moving forward with his standing order to fill them all in. “Admiral,” He nodded to Hackett respectfully. “My last contact with the Commander was distorted but I got the idea, the Conduit is a relay link to the Citadel. Not 30 seconds before that message came in all the Geth left Ilos orbit…Admiral, General, they’ve got to be heading for the Citadel. There is no way the defense fleet is going to be able to hold them off, not with that many Geth and a Reaper at the lead.”

Hackett squirmed a little; this was going to get hairy. “Lieutenant, General, I am prepared to take the Fifth Fleet in to defend the Citadel. General, we would welcome whatever assistance you can provide in that, the report that you forwarded to the fleet will prove useful against the Geth and the Reaper Sovereign.”

Victus gave the Admiral a nod. “The Lante is at your disposal, Admiral; we’ll follow your lead.” Those were some strange words, he knew Hackett by reputation he had served in 314 same as he did. After all this time it was still odd to be joining forces, especially for two prominent soldiers who’d served on opposite sides. 

“Outstanding, jump prep underway, we’ll contact everyone when we’re ready to move. Hackett out.” 

Kaidan reached for the button to disconnect from Victus as Hackett flickered out. “Lieutenant,” Victus began, stopping him from ending the call. “What happened?” he asked gesturing to the injury Kaidan had sustained. 

“Took a hit on Virmire, Sir,” he replied, his tone as respectful as Victus had ever heard, the young man was clearly someone that Sidda trusted. “Tyr…Capt. Cerrus prevented me from bleeding out.”

Victus blinked, not at the fact Cerrus saved him, that was Turian training and Cerrus’ ‘never lose anyone ever’ mentality, but he called him Tyr before he corrected himself. Sidda didn’t even call him by his given name, hardly anyone called him by his given name only people he was close to had that privilege. “Where is Cerrus?” he asked rather than stand there was a dumbfounded look. 

“He went with Shepard to Ilos along with Garrus and Wrex,” he answered and lingered a moment obviously reading Victus’ expression through the crappy hologram. “Tyr’s a good friend, General, he’ll bring her back.”

The galaxy just tilted on its axis…Cerrus made a human friend. He thanked the Alliance officer and cut off the transmission turning to see Maridus listening in. “General quarters, Major,” Maridus nodded and hit the button to sound the alert for the coming combat.


	32. Indestructible

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also a little special piece of music here. The song I've always used for Sidda, Indestructible by Disturbed.

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Thirty Two: Indestructible

The Mako careened out of the Relay Monument at a frightening speed, smashing nose first into the deck before flipping end over end in an uncontrolled disastrous landing. The tank rolled to the right sharply after hitting a staircase before finally coming to a halt with a screech. Smoke rose from the busted tank as Sidda finally proved that the beast was not, in fact, indestructible. The first and second axels were snapped and the right front wheel ripped off, thrown into one of the reservoirs. After everything that the tank had been through; the planets it was dropped onto, the firefights, the drop through an asteroid field onto a base that didn’t exist, a trip through a mini Mass Relay finally did it in. 

Sidda flopped out of the overturned Mako and crawled out of the way so the others could get out too. When the Mako exited the relay Sidda was at the helm, the Mako had been designed to take a major beating but it was never designed to travel through a mass relay. When it hit, the safety precautions to keep everyone in their seats failed and Sidda was shoved into the console hard enough knock the wind out of her. Wrex, Garrus, and Cerrus wound up a tangled heap as no one expected the crash to be that violent. Pain spread across her chest under her breasts every time she took a breath. It was calamity for a time as everyone crawled from the wreckage. 

“Everyone alright?” Garrus asked and received a grumbly groan from Cerrus, nothing from Sidda, and a laugh, of all things, from Wrex. 

“That’s the best ride I’ve had all year,” Wrex chuckled. “Let’s do it again.”

Sidda tried her best to move and coughed several times making the pain in her chest worse. “We’ll need a new Mako for that,” she groaned painfully and slowly moved around.

“You alright?” Garrus asked her directly seeing how slow she was moving and swiftly hauled her to her feet. He didn’t believe her answer after she cried out in pain when she got to her feet. 

“I’m alright…I’m alright,” she said her words short, like they were trying to mask pain. She looked around, the wreckage of the Mako aside, it was clear that Saren had attacked the station. The flattened remains of husks and Geth showed the path the Mako traveled. “We gotta go…we gotta find him.”

“Citadel control center, I don’t know about you but I’ve never seen it,” he said as Cerrus and Wrex checked the area for any stragglers the Mako might have missed. 

Sidda had figured it out; it was something that Vigil said about the Keepers. “It’s the Tower. The Keepers run the Citadel, the Tower runs the Keepers. When Sovereign sent the signal the Keepers ignored it…that’s where we need to go.”

Of the four of them the only one that didn’t have an apparent injury of some kind was Wrex, Cerrus had received another laceration that was seeping blood down the left side of his head…it wasn’t a bad wound but it was most certainly going to add another scar to his collection. Garrus had a bloody nose and was limping a little and Sidda had what she was certain to be more broken ribs. On this mission to capture Saren she’d already broken more ribs than she could remember in her lifetime. However, this time it felt different…worse, she could only imagine what it would have been like without the armor to protect her chest. 

Garrus knew the Citadel better than the rest of them did and took point to take them where they needed to go. The Citadel was clearly under attack given the emergency lighting and alarms; but nobody could have prepared for an attack like this. Even Sidda couldn’t have told them to expect this; the Relay Monument was just a replica…not a working mass relay…at least that had been the working theory until Saren proved them horribly wrong. 

It was easy to pick up Saren’s trail, he and his Geth left a trail of dead people behind, and there were some Geth and Husks that had been dropped by C-Sec before they were killed. Garrus passed bodies of people he knew but focused on leading them on Saren’s path. 

So far the worst enemies to encounter were the Krogan; those bastards regenerated and were as resilient as they came. The Geth were a little easier to handle, Garrus’ tech abilities were invaluable at bringing them down, he hit a destroyer with a power and the weapon it was carrying exploded. It was almost laughable once it was all over, watching the mechanical beast give his weapon a perplexed head cock a split second before it blew up in his face made the whole team giggle. 

Cerrus and Wrex were a force to be reckoned with, and whatever got past Wrex was taken out by Cerrus. Sidda provided support with biotics and once in a while Garrus switched over to his sniper rifle and took out the rest from a distance. Watching Wrex go head to head with another Krogan was enlightening; Wrex was a biotic, a Vanguard to be more precise, and when he was turned loose with that shotgun he just laid waste to it all. 

Sidda collapsed back into the wall and squeezed her eyes shut trying to bite back the pain in her chest. She groaned and grimaced in pain, her helmet hid the pained expression but when she opened her eyes Garrus was in front of her. 

“Commander,” he began and she pushed him back. 

“I’m fine,” she growled loudly really wishing Kaidan was on the team. Something was wrong, she could feel it, this wasn’t a garden variety broken rib or two. 

Garrus ignored her, she wasn’t fine and his Omni-tool lit up over her chest. Just a medical program Kaidan downloaded to everyone’s Omni-tool. “No you’re not,” he growled as he read the screen, he wasn’t an expert on Human anatomy but he did pay attention to the basic first aid class Kaidan put them through. “Broken ribs, fractured sternum-…” he started and she shoved him off her. 

“I’m fine, Garrus, let’s go,” she snarled and mustered her fortitude to keep going. 

With that the group soldiered on, they fought their way through his Krogan and Geth, Sidda was right about the Tower being Saren’s destination, the further they pressed the more bad guys they found. When they finally got back inside after the excursion outside to get around the disabled lift helmets could finally come off. 

**

Sidda’s breath grew shorter and shorter as the pain in her chest tightened, then came come uncontrolled coughing, she got the helmet off just in time for Garrus to see her spit blood onto the deck. She saw him coming and held up her hand to stop him from aiding her. He ignored it.

“Commander-…” he ignored her and she cut him off. 

“Garrus, I’m fine,” she said sharply and righted herself…that was a punctured lung. That was just great.

“Sidda-…”

“Garrus, if I have to say it one more time I’m gonna shoot you,” she warned sounding irritated with the mothering. “I’ll be fine…let’s go.” Wrex was silent but understood the worry that Garrus had, Sidda was tough but she was the leader and if she died that wouldn’t benefit anyone. Cerrus just eyed her but said nothing, she was strong and determined but he also said he’d bring her back alive. He didn’t fancy being shot by her or getting into an argument with her so he said nothing.

Moving along now was fairly quiet; they were going in the right direction if the trail of bodies were any indication. They wasted no more time and quickly found the Council chamber, encountering the first resistance they’d had in about 5 minutes. It was Geth, fanned out and protecting the first room of the chamber, Saren was further up and Sidda guessed that they’d be spread out along the whole way. They needed to end this quick and rush Saren. 

Bringing her arms around in front of her to properly hold her pistol hurt like hell on both sides but she managed through it. Her aim wasn’t as accurate but her Biotics still kicked ass, her dark energy ripped the Geth apart with violent force. Wrex, Garrus, and Cerrus worked like a well-oiled machine and were beyond accurate, they knew what needed to be done and knew that the quickest way to kill Geth was with headshots so that is where every round landed. They tore through the resistance leaving bits and pieces of machine in their wake until all that remained was her prize, her quarry, Saren. He was in here somewhere. 

Something wasn’t right about the stillness in the chamber after the last Geth fell. The command console, or what she assumed was the command console, was vacant…something was off. “Careful,” she heard Cerrus warn and had every intention of heeding it. 

The whirring noise that came next was familiar, Sidda had heard it before and Saren popped up from beyond the council platform, though she wasn’t sure exactly where he came from that would have hidden him and his menacing hovercraft. 

The team scattered from Saren’s grenade, Wrex and Garrus to one side and Cerrus yanked Sidda into cover with him. He’d kept an eye on her since the wreck, she had determination to admire but she was clearly injured, even for a Turian coughing up blood was bad. 

“Jesus Christ, again with that thing?” she growled referring to the hovercraft. “How many times do I have to blow it up?” She didn’t have something to blow it up this time so getting him off it or bringing it down was going to require some ingenuity. 

“Commander, you continue to impress,” Saren began from his position atop of the hovercraft. Sidda noticed that something was a little different about him now; he could use the Geth arm now…whatever damage that occurred to cause him to not use it on Virmire must have been corrected. “I was almost afraid you wouldn’t make it in time.”

Sidda grimaced. “If you wanted me here sooner you could have just sent me an invite and kept the welcome wagon.”

She heard the Turian give her a single laugh. “Perhaps Nihlus was right about you after all,” he replied and she took a several shallow breaths as her damaged ribs and current position wouldn’t allow her to take a deep one. 

“Cut the shit, Saren, you’ve led me on a merry chase across the galaxy, what are you hoping to accomplish now?” she asked as she surveyed the surroundings, it was a really crappy area to fight in, there was cover but no real tactical advantage especially not with him on the damned hovercraft. 

“You’ve lost, you know that, I commend your efforts…you made it further than I thought possible but now it’s time for the final confrontation. In a few minutes Sovereign will have full control of the Citadel systems, the relay will open, and the Reapers will return.” Saren explained. This was as close to a standoff as they could get. He couldn’t get a line of sight on any of them and he had the advantage of mobility. 

“I’m not gonna let you just hand the galaxy over to the Reapers, Saren, you know that,” she stated and Saren gave her an acknowledging nod. He was conflicted, even now; Virmire had planted the seed of doubt. 

“Our encounter on Virmire was enlightening, you survived but that won’t happen twice. Sovereign has upgraded me.”

“Upgraded?” Cerrus pondered out loud to her in a quiet voice.

“I don’t like the sound of that,” she muttered to him and returned her attention to Saren. “What did you do?”

“Sovereign has removed all doubt.” Saren answered and Sidda closed her eyes mourning the loss of the tiny hope she had to flip him. “I suppose I should thank you Shepard, after Virmire I couldn't stop thinking about what you said, about Sovereign manipulating me, about indoctrination...the doubts began to eat away at me. Sovereign sensed my hesitation; I was implanted to strengthen my resolve. Now my doubts are gone, I believe in Sovereign completely. I understand that the Reapers need organics. Join us and Sovereign will find a place for you.”

Anger burned up and down Sidda’s spine and she gained a blue aura momentarily telling Cerrus that she was pissed. She knew she saw the real Saren on Virmire, she had a chance to turn him but now that bloody machine got to him before she could again. “As a slave? Fuck you!” she barked as her anger got the better of her. “You scared Sovereign when you began to think for yourself, to see right through his motives and you let him implant you, don’t you see he’s controlling you now?”

Saren blinked at that, something wasn’t right…this was all wrong. “The relationship is symbiotic. A true union of machine and organic, I am the next step in our evolution, Commander, join us.”

“He’s using you! We can beat this. You can beat him, I know you can. I saw it in your eyes on Virmire. I know you’re still in there. Help me!” She argued trying her best to appeal to Saren. Not the implants, Saren, the Turian she saw in his eyes on Virmire. “I can stop this! I can stop him from taking over the Citadel, move aside and the invasion will never happen.”

There was an internal conflict going on, Sidda was correct, Saren was still in there. He may have been a hard to take, a racist, with a serious bug up his ass, but he was the best Spectre in the galaxy. Turning him into Sovereign’s top Lieutenant wasn’t easy for the Reaper; Saren had a mind of his own, and was very intelligent. No matter the amount of the Reaper tech that Sovereign put in him Sidda was right, Saren was still there, the Turian was still in there. “We can never stop this,” he said after a moment sounding frustrated and Sidda actually allowed a slight smile. “Not forever, the Reapers are too strong. The Protheans were the pinnacle of existence and the Reapers wiped them out.”

“You know this is wrong, Saren, fight him!” she shouted. “I know you have your flaws but we all do, Nihlus spoke highly of you, he trusted you, I remember you came to get him after he was captured by the Batarians. You know that Sovereign is dangerous, that the Reapers will annihilate the galaxy, fight him! Help me!”

There was a pause as she heard Saren begin to tell her that she was right and then he growled in pain dropping to one knee. “I’m…the implants…Sovereign is too strong…I can’t…it’s too late for me.”

Sidda got to her feet stood face to face with him much to the utter dismay of her team. Cerrus tried to pull her back down but she waved him off. “It’s not too late. Fight him! Fight him and help me. Move aside!”

Saren remembered all he’d done in his service to his master. All the people he’d killed, Humans, Asari, Quarians, Salarian…Nihlus. Nihlus was his student but he’d come to think of him as a brother, he fought with him, protected him, counted on him…and he killed him. He’d killed the only person he trusted enough to call a brother, the despicable act haunted him and he remembered it all. The trust Nihlus had in him when unworriedly turned his back to him, the blue mist that sprayed when the bullet blew through his head. The memory slapped him in the face and it horrified him with disgust and shame. “What have I done?” he said quietly as he reconciled all the reasons that she was right and he was wrong. He locked eyes with her and for the only moment in his life he respected a human. Shepard had showed him the meaning of true resolve and dedication and he was glad she had. “I’m sorry,” he told her and put his pistol under his right mandible. “Thank you, Shepard.” 

The shot rang out and Saren fell from the hovercraft, he took his own life after being pulled back from the dark side. Sidda wasn’t sure how she felt about it; of course she was thrilled that he was finally dead but it was a bittersweet sense of victory, he died remembering who he was, seeing the indoctrination and he went out on his own terms. It didn’t feel like a victory. 

“Son of a bitch…” she commented and took a moment to let it all sink in. They were quiet as she pulled the OSD from its hidey hole in her greaves and inserted it just as Vigil had instructed. She tapped a few keys letting the Citadel do the rest and opened a channel with her Alliance code.

“Shepard? Shepard, do you read?” a familiar voice crackled through the comm. Sidda nodded to herself with a slight smile. “Come on, Commander, talk to me.”

“I read you, Joker, status?” she asked as the controls beeped a few times. 

“Yeah, we’re here on the other side of the Relay with the entire Arcturus fleet, open the Relay and we’ll join the fray.” He reported and she gave the console a puzzled expression. Vigil had said the OSD would return control to her and unlock the Mass Relay. 

“This is the Destiny Ascension we, need immediate support…we have the Council onboard.” Another voice cut in, probably the commanding officer of the council’s flagship. 

“Commander, did you get that?” Joker asked and she nodded even though he couldn’t see it. “How do you want us to play it?”

Sidda gave it a quick thought, there were pros and cons to the decision and they all crashed through her mind. “Unlocking the relay now, Joker, save the Destiny Ascension. I repeat, save the Destiny Ascension.” She ordered and Cerrus stepped toward her with an expression like he was just about to disagree with her.

“Commander, no, save your fleet,” he blurted and she looked over at him briefly. “You’re going to need all the firepower you have to take out Sovereign.” 

Count on Cerrus to take the opposite side of whatever she said. “They’ll still have enough to hit Sovereign after they clear the Destiny Ascension,” she replied and Cerrus shook his head. 

“Commander, you don’t know that, save your fleet,” he argued and the other two weighed in. 

“I agree,” Wrex commented and Garrus glared at him as did Sidda. 

“There are ten thousand people on that ship, Cerrus, are you saying just let them die?” Garrus snarled and Cerrus embraced the idea that he was at odds with everyone. 

Cerrus knew the basic specifications of Asari ships, they built them tough. “The Destiny Ascension can hold, you have no idea what it’s going to take to destroy a Reaper,” he said and Garrus scoffed loudly. 

“You really are an asshole,” Garrus commented and Cerrus’ jaw clenched as he glowered at Garrus. 

“Say you save the Ascension and you lose a lot of ships doing it and can’t put down Sovereign, then what?” he had a point but Sidda’s decision was made. 

“The decision has been made, Cerrus, can it,” she snapped but she figured that he wasn’t going to just let that go. Cerrus was a good officer, a hell of a soldier, and usually right despite his tact. He argued with her more often than not and she knew he was going to argue about this and cut him off at the pass. “Go and make sure he’s dead,” she ordered now standing face to face with him. Sidda was pointing to where Saren fell through the glass. Her tone was enough to make him stop fighting; he didn’t agree and grudgingly did as asked. 

**

The Citadel fleet was quickly overwhelmed by the sheer force of the Geth; it was too late now to admit that Sidda was right, it was all a fight for survival. The Defense fleet wasn’t just going to step aside and stood their ground however futile. 

Victus stood on the CIC as the Lante exited the Relay at the head of the line with the Normandy and Hackett’s ship Orlando. The order went out from Hackett to save the Destiny Ascension and Victus agreed, they had to do it quickly though since the target was the Reaper. If the Alliance fleet got bogged down trying to help the behemoth Asari ship they wouldn’t have enough left in both time and firepower to deal with Sovereign. 

“Normandy, go after Sovereign, the rest of us can handle this,” Victus ordered and came to realization after he gave the order that this wasn’t his show, he shrugged it off and dealt with it. “Tactical?”

That was Maridus; he tapped the screen before him and studied it quickly as the computer laid out what he needed to see. “Destiny Ascension’s barriers are nearly depleted, major hull damage to the ventral.” He reported. 

“Zara, take us in,” he ordered. “Weapons, target the nearest Geth ship attacking the Ascension and fire.”

The fleet opened fire all at once but it was ugly. The ship shook under Victus’ feet and he gripped the console next to him. Maridus’ console complained more and more and he interpreted the results. “The Cape Town’s been destroyed.”

“Maintain course,” Victus ordered and looked at the tactical screen. “Bring up the GUARDIAN; target the cruiser, fire when you get a lock.”

The majority of the fleet hit the Destiny Ascension with overwhelming force but the Geth saw them coming, it deteriorated into a giant mess as the Alliance charged in drawing the Geth. The pitched battle was a fireball as the Geth destroyed two Alliance cruisers during the initial run. It took a few nail biting moments to clear the Destiny Ascension but the brute force of the Alliance accomplished just that. 

“Destiny Ascension, you are clear,” Maridus informed them over the comm. “Retreat, I repeat, retreat and protect the Council.”

With the arrival of the Alliance, Sovereign bypassed everything to get to the Citadel and the Normandy was in hot pursuit. Letting the little frigate go was the best option and the rest of the fleet would have joined had they not gotten bogged down by all the Geth that was swarming around like fireflies. 

The Lante shook to the right and to the left as the dorsal was hit twice in rapid succession. Alarms sounded through the Turian frigate as the ship complained about all impacts it was taking. The ship was being swarmed. Victus growled loudly as the hits just kept on coming, his ship was tough but repeated hits were going to become a problem if they didn’t make them stop. “Zara, get us out of the middle,” he barked.

“The whole thing’s a ‘middle’,” she snapped back at him and Victus growled to the pilot. 

“Get us out of here!” he barked louder uninterested in her opinion. He heard his pilot growl out frustration and Victus felt the subtle movement beneath his feet. It may have been subtle under his feet but he knew that Zara was probably maneuvering the frigate in some highly evasive movements. The Lante fired its mass accelerator as the Orlando dealt with the swarm that was pestering the Turian ally. “Pursuit course for Sovereign, go!” he ordered and Zara immediately changed the frigate’s direction. 

Maridus assessed the tactical screen as the Lante screamed toward the Citadel. “The Normandy is being pestered,” Maridus announced, “two ships…dead ahead.”

It had been a while since Victus had been in a battle like this; he was lauded for his unpredictability and his unconventional tactics. “Tactical, target both ships, one with the GUARDIAN at full and one with the Mass Accelerator,” Victus ordered and of course Maridus voiced the warning he already knew. 

“We’ll suffer a severe power drain,” his first officer said and he nodded in a silent acknowledgement. This order was carried out and the Turian frigate fired both its main weapons at once. The drain on its power was felt immediately, the power grid flickered as GUARDIAN sucked it away. The Mass Accelerator hit its intended target but did not destroy it, the GUARDIAN, however, hit its target dead on and blew it into a cloud of vapor. 

The Citadel arms were closing fast, they couldn’t dally any longer. “Normandy, get to Sovereign, we’ll entertain the enemy, go now.”

“Understood, Lante.” They heard Kaidan’s gravelly voice reply. The Normandy disappeared into the Citadel’s arms as it barely made it before the station closed to a bullet shape.  
Now it was practically impenetrable to the outside forces. Zara’s piloting skills were put to the test as she didn’t wait for orders to position the frigate for a kill. The remaining Geth ship that’d hit by the Mass accelerator was rendered into debris quickly by the weapons team. 

“General,” Maridus started as his screen lit up with more targets, “engineering reports power grid is down to 52%. The full blast from the GUARDIAN took a lot out of it.”

“She’ll hold,” Victus replied. “Tell Vellereck to shunt as needed.”

“The Warsaw’s in trouble.” Communications reported. “Barriers are down…weapons are offline.” 

“Take us to them,” he nodded, the fight outside had become a bit more manageable. 

The Alliance cruiser was in the middle of a three on one fight and losing the battle. A hit from a Geth ship punched a hole vertically on the port side, she was drifting, and listing as the Geth continued to pummel the mighty cruiser. They didn’t have much time and Maridus’ tactical screen blared that as it analyzed the situation. Victus hovered over his shoulder quickly deciding the next course of action. 

“Weapons, targeting solutions, fire when you get a lock,” he ordered. 

As soon as the Lante’s targeting system locked the frigate opened fire. She may have been an older Turian ship but she still packed a hefty punch. That wasn’t to say the fight was easy, the Geth turned to fight them and landed more than a few direct hits but the Lante’s barriers held despite the complaining alarm for their power grid. Firing the GUARDIAN at full blast, while at high speed, with the barriers at full, and using the Mass Accelerator was a bit much and must have damaged it since its recharge was supposed to be done by now instead of moving at a snail’s pace. 

There was smoke in the air in the CIC when a conduit blew out, starting a small fire. It was quickly put out but it added a haze to the tactical lighting. “Warsaw, you are clear,” Victus said there was a pause before the response came through. 

“Thanks for the help, Lante, I owe you a drink.” The cruisers’ female commander replied back and Victus allowed a soft snort. 

“My pleasure, Captain…Turian Brandy,” he said back and had his ship break off to finishing mopping up the Geth.

They didn’t get far, maybe a minute later the Lante took a hard hit that made the warship buck violently. People still standing were thrown off their feet including Maridus who tumbled into the weapons station. That wasn’t a normal hit; something actually punched through their barriers and hit the hull. “Report,” Victus said but Maridus was already ahead of him scrambling back to his multi-purpose station for a report from the ship, they were no longer moving under power and they could both feel it under their feet. 

There was pause as he took in what the screen was telling him. “Core’s offline, weapons and barriers are down.”

Victus let a curse escape as he punched up his engineer on the comms. “Vellereck,” he barked but his chief engineer cut him off. 

Vellereck was expecting the General any second and as soon as he heard the General’s voice he didn’t wait on ceremony. “We took a hit directly above the core, caused a power surge. I’m bringing her back online now, two minutes.” He reported and Victus swore again. 

Two minutes may have sounded like a short time but they were on the combat clock now. Two minutes was an eternity. “We’re not gonna be here in two minutes,” he hissed. “Tactical?”

Again, Maridus, as first officer he had multiple functions but Tactical was his main. “Two Geth ships inbound on attack trajectory.” There was pause before he spoke again accompanied with a warning alarm. “They’re firing weapons. General, without the barriers, if they hit we’re finished.”

That really didn’t need to be said, Victus knew that. “Well aware of that,” he replied flatly and keyed the comm again. “Vellereck, barriers in the next 30 seconds or we’re all dead.”

There was no response and his ship was still half dead in the water. This wasn’t how he saw going out, his ship with no power, and no teeth. There was a rough shake but it wasn’t nearly as hard as he expected, it didn’t feel like an impact and he gave Maridus a curious look, his first officer was gazing at his screen blinking a few times. Something was wrong and he could see it on his face. “That was the Warsaw…” he began quietly, “she took the hit for us.”

Victus blinked, they’d just save that ship, her barriers were down and weapons were offline but they still managed to save the ship that saved them. “Status?”

His first officer returned to business as the frigate hummed back to life and console complained. “She took both hits…they’re gone.” It was a sacrifice that wouldn’t go unnoticed it was just that now was not the time.

“Back online, Adrien,” Zara said in the comm and Victus looked to his XO. 

“Bring us about, charge all weapons,” he ordered and gave his XO a very pointed look. “Find the two that took out the Warsaw.” Maridus nodded sharply and fed his tactical data into the comm and navigation system. 

“Grid’s at 40%...Vellereck reports he can’t get it to hold a charge,” Maridus informed and Victus didn’t care. 

“Divert all power but life support and barrier to the weapons and ram it down their throat.” Maridus nodded at the order and passed it on, he found the ships that’d sunk the Warsaw and weapons got a firing solutions on them as they screamed toward them as fast as they could, charging their weapons as they did so. When they were in range she opened fire, both Geth ships took several direct hits in rapid succession and never stood a chance. 

As the battle wore on, it was evident that the Geth were on the losing side of it, but they still knew nothing about what was going on inside the sealed tin can until the arms started to open revealing a perched Sovereign being harassed by the Normandy. As soon as ships could get a lock, the ones that weren’t actively engaged in another fight, opened fire until the Reaper blew apart sending massive chunks of debris hurtling into the Ward arms. Most people who witnessed the destruction of the menacing vessel looked on in shock, no one had ever seen or heard of anything like Sovereign but here it was…a sentient ship, and now it had been destroyed by the Alliance.


	33. Hero of the Citadel

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Thirty Three: Hero of the Citadel

When the fighting was over, the Alliance swarmed the Citadel and helped C-Sec clear it; Victus sent both of his ground teams, himself, and Maridus to help. Victus made a bee line for the Council chamber and spent an enormous amount of time sifting through the rubble; a great piece of Sovereign all but destroyed the chamber and after hours of sifting through the calamity Kalvaris found Sidda. She was alive, but in rough shape. 

Victus had spent much of it pacing around in Citadel Hospital worried about Sidda. She’d been in and out of surgery twice to mend internal bleeding suffered either in the Mako crash or when Sovereign exploded. The rest of the team had been treated, Garrus held for a leg injury, and released to join in the effort to clear the station. 

Three days of being awake and laying in a hospital bed Sidda was becoming a terrible patient. She wanted out and was tired of being mothered. She was surprised to see that Victus was there every day, nearly all day. 

“Don’t you have somewhere you need to be?” she asked and Victus simply snorted. “A ship to run or something?”

“No, the crew is helping with the Citadel and I am where I’m supposed to be.” He replied casually, he didn’t give up work entirely; he had a continuous stream of reports that were dropped off by various members of the crew. 

“Watching me recover, slowly?” she asked and he set the pad down on the table. 

“Protecting you.” He clarified. She cocked her head to him and narrowed her eyes but he beat her to it. “Hospitals are a dangerous place for people…especially for people who have, up until recently, been targeted by assassins and indoctrinated rogue Spectres.”

Sidda smiled to him flattered by his concern for her safety. “My knight in shining armor.”

Victus looked up from the pad. “What?”

She chuckled. “Medieval Earth history; the noble warrior in a suit of armor always protected the damsel in distress.” She explained and Victus snorted. Humans had some interesting tales. 

“Well, if you’re the damsel in this story than Kalvaris is your Knight…not me.” He informed and Sidda chuckled making a mental note to thank him when she saw him next.

“So, what’s been going on while I’ve been tied to bed?” she asked.

“Clean up. The Presidium and Zakera Ward took the most of it, the Council Chamber got crushed…I put the crew of the Warsaw in for the Star of Terra.” He told her and Sidda’s brow furrowed. “That ship saved us…took a hit for us with absolutely no barriers.” 

Sidda had gotten a lot of information thrown at her since she woke up, the number of ships lost was one of them and she nodded to him. 

**

Part of Victus’ self-appointed job was running interference; he was protecting her from though who would want to hurt her and from Udina, who’d shown up several time to talk to her and been kicked out each time by Victus and once by Hackett. He hadn’t seen him in a while though but of course it didn’t last long, Udina had circled back and was now pestering to get into the room to talk to Sidda. 

“I wish to speak with Shepard.” Udina said but Victus didn’t move from the doorway. 

Victus looked over his shoulder to Sidda finally feeling good enough to sit up. It wasn’t like she couldn’t hear who was at the door and knew that Victus had the same opinion about Udina that she did. Udina could kiss her ass and take a swan dive off of what’s left of the Citadel Tower. She shook her head slightly and that was all he needed. “Nope.” He said simply looking down at Udina. 

“I beg your pardon?” Udina asked as Victus didn’t move. 

Victus’ expression didn’t change. “No.” he repeated his tone clear and firm. 

Udina straightened; he was the ambassador and shouldn’t need to ask permission to see Earth’s only Spectre. “I must speak with her.”

Victus’ posture straightened, he would have loved nothing more than to punch him in the face. Sidda had been right and trusted Udina to have her back; he didn’t and instead stuck a knife in it. “Then you should have listened to her a week ago.” He stated and Udina glared at him.

“General…-” he began and Victus’ held up one hand silencing him with a gesture. It was a power that Victus had perfected over the years; with the exception of Fedorian he could silence anyone with a gesture…Udina was no different. 

Victus’ tone dropped reflecting the seriousness of mood. “She doesn’t want to see you and you’re not getting in.” he said and Udina huffed grudgingly leaving. Victus was an imposing figure and even Udina saw that and decided not to press. 

Sidda chuckled as Victus turned toward her; he was the best watchdog she’d ever had. When he turned back to her he noticed her smiling and gave her a curious expression. “That’s worth an instant replay…do it again.”

Victus snorted and sat back down in the chair next to her bed. “He’s been hovering the whole time you were in and out of surgery.” 

“The Council wants my opinion on who the human Council member should be.” She said. Anderson and Hackett dropped by and dropped that little gem on her when she first came out of surgery. “He’s probably trying to figure out how to get me to recommend him after he threw me under the bus with the Council.”

Victus sat back down. “Oh I wouldn’t do that, Sid.” He snorted; nothing good would come of that. “I can think of a thousand ways that would bite you in the ass.”

She could too and chuckled. “Oh yes…” she replied then grumbled as she fidgeted in the bed. “Come on, Adrien, will you spring me from this joint…get me out of here.”

“They don’t want to release you yet.” He replied sorting the datapads. 

“Adrien…”

He held up his hand demonstrating his power. “You are not getting out of here, yet, not until they are certain that you’re okay.” He told her with a light tone. 

“Adrien…”

“Rest.” 

“Ad…-“

“Rest.”

Sidda’s eyes narrowed and she grumbled. She didn’t want to stare at the ceiling anymore, be poked and prodded. Victus was a good watchdog but apparently an even better Warden. There was silence as he started to scan through the report Maridus has dropped off. Her eyes drifted to him, the quiet Turian couldn’t just sit and do nothing, he was always working. “Well, so long as I’m here and you’re here,” She started dropping her tone seductively and Victus stopped reading but his eyes met hers. “there’s something you can do for me.” He knew her flirting tone when he heard it and cocked his head. 

“Precisely what did you have in mind, Sidda?” he purred setting the pad down and leaning in close to her. 

Sidda’s expression was sultry and she grinned, the smile that drove him crazy. “Hmmm…well,” she started as he got closer. “you could get me a drink, Warden Adrien.”

Vcitus groaned loudly and laughed, she played him. “You are a mean woman, Siddalee Shepard.” He chuckled. 

“Get me out of here, Adrien.” She spat with no heat and he chuckled again, she was a terrible patient and clearly going stir crazy but he wasn’t letting her go. 

Sidda was reminding him of his son. “No. Now quit being a stubborn patient and heal…I’ll be back with your drink, you tease.” 

**

The human doctor, who Sidda had seen more than Victus lately, pressed on her new incisions. She was healing well and he gauged her response as he pressed the tissue. Sidda hissed a few times but he found no infection. “You’re healing well, Commander.” He said. “The tenderness should pass soon just make sure you continue to take it easy for the next few weeks and you should be cleared for duty.” He lifted the gown more to check her other major injury, the fractured sternum. “How’s the breathing?”

“Better.” She nodded, there was still some soreness but the bone healers worked well. “Still can’t take a deep breath but it doesn’t hurt as much.”

“Good, we’ll keep you for a few more days and then you can get out of here.” He told her as the door opened. Nov didn’t realize and averted his eyes from Sidda half-naked. 

“I’m sorry.” He said immediately. “I’ll come back.”

Sidda pulled the gown down. “No, Cal, it’s fine. We’re done.” She said and the doctor nodded tapping furiously on her chart before clearing the room. Nov she hadn’t seen at all since she had been trapped in the hospital. 

“I’m sorry.” He said again, it wasn’t his intention to invade her privacy. “I didn’t know.”

Sidda waved him off as she stood up to stretch her legs. “Nah, don’t worry about it.” She told him with a smile. “What are you doing here?”

“The General got called away; he still seems to think you’re in danger, he didn’t want you left alone so I volunteered.” He explained. 

Sidda tinged pink, the Turians cared so much for her and it made her smile. “You volunteered to protect me?”

He cocked his head to her, he do anything to protect her. “Of course I did, what kind of question is that?” he chuckled and Sidda did the same. “You had me worried, Sid.” He said his tone serious now. When Kalvaris pulled her from the rubble they all thought she was dead, he barely held it together but the thought of her dead was nearly maddening. If she couldn’t be his he’d rather have her in his life in come capacity than gone completely. 

“I know.” She replied with a meek smile, she knew he cared deeply for her. “I’m sorry.”

Nov shrugged, she was going to be okay and that was enough for him. His eyes surveyed the room as she climed back into the bed carefully, there were two bouquets of Turian flowers and several arrangements he wasn’t familiar with. He poked through the Turian Orchid’s; the name on them said Victus. Nov never through to get her anything…Victus had. Victus broke almost every rule to help her, risked a court-martial, hell, it was possible he still could be. Nov could feel his heart sinking knowing that as long as Victus was with her he never had a chance. It was easy to see the affection they had for each other and Nov swallowed the confession he’d thinking about day and night. He needed to tell her but he feared her reaction and he feared the consequences from either response. 

“Adrien brought those.” She commented. “Said they’re from-…”

“Palaven.” Nov finished. “Hard to get out here. Expensive.” He went on, Victus didn’t skimp apparently. “We grow these on Rylo but they never come out quite as hardy as they are on Palaven…I like the Lily’s better.”

Sidda giggled. “You like flowers?”

Nov snorted and pulled checked out the rest. “Yes, I like flowers.” He laughed softly. “My mother’s a Botanist.”

Sidda didn’t know that, in fact, she didn’t know much about his family other than the fact that he hated his father on an extreme level. “I didn’t know that.”

Nov grunted, it wasn’t important information to give out. He loved his mother and went to great lengths to keep her protected. “These are nice,” he said sniffing an arrangement he wasn’t familiar with. “where are these from?”

It was the bouquet that Chakwas brought. “Earth.” She answered. “That’s a Spring Mix.”

Nov grunted again and turned away finding a seat. “So…I remember you did this for me…figured I’d return the favor.” He said producing a deck of cards.”

Sidda laughed. “Well, as much as I like five card draw, what you really could do for me is spring me.”

Nov scoffed loudly as he shuffled the cards, Sidda was always amazed by the dexterity they had with those talons. “The General said you’d say that, told me to tell you: no.”

She picked up the cards he was dealing out and organized them quickly. “And what else did my overprotective lover say?”

Nov tried to ignore that phrasing but part of his felt the sting of it. “To wait on you hand and foot but not let you escape.” 

She laughed. “Come on, Cal, I broke you out.” She pressed, it was friendly banter, he’d never let her leave here if Victus told him to keep her and she knew she had to stay. 

“No.” he answered. “Cards?”

Sidda looked at her hand and shook her head. “Nah, I’ll play these.”

Nov froze, that was not a good sign in any card game, he sighed heavily and took three dreading what hand she’d been dealt. “Two pair.” He announced cautiously. It wasn’t the best hand ever and he knew that.

Sidda shrugged, for two people playing a two pair with threes and tens was respectable. “Spade flush.”

Nov blinked. “What the fuck…” he muttered with a snort. “right off the bat I deal you a flush?” She chuckled to him and her smile nearly killed him. As much as he wanted, or needed, to let her go he just couldn’t so he made the decision to distance himself, it was a good thing that Cerrus went on the assignment and not himself. He never thought he’d think that but there it was. She wasn’t for him. 

**

A week had passed and Sidda was finally released from the hospital, she wasn’t free though, she had strict orders to take it easy and avoid anything strenuous. The Citadel was still a mess and Sidda wanted to go back to the Normandy or the Lante but she was ordered to remain on the Citadel until otherwise instructed by the doctor. It was surreal to think of just how close she came to death. 

Once the dust settled from all the fighting and debris everyone wanted a piece of her. Reporters, military, diplomats, and of course the Council, Victus had kept anyone unwanted at bay as Hackett and Anderson did the rest. She had still stolen an Alliance ship, disobeyed orders, and wrecked half the Citadel…she had some things to answer for. Victus was in hot water as well, for someone who wasn’t supposed to be there he was certainly highly visible in the defense of the station. It didn’t take long for the Hierarchy to figure it out and pounce on him.

Sidda observed herself in the mirror, with her shirt lifted up she was fixated on the three new surgical scars she’d acquired over the past week and a half. Two of them were to repair the damage that caused internal bleeding the third was to fix her punctured lung. Crashing the Mako nearly killed her but it did so slowly. She’d overheard the doctor telling Hackett and Anderson that if Kalvaris hadn’t have found her when he did she would have died. They nearly lost her during the first round of surgery and then again afterward which prompted the second surgery. 

“Doctor said the scars would fade in time.” Victus said from the door to the bedroom. She didn’t hear him come in and was startled a little more than she felt she should have been by his sudden appearance. She was still a bit jumpy. 

She scoffed and let her shirt down turning toward him. “And what’s one more scar, or three, in the grand scheme of things?” she asked gesturing to the shrapnel scar on the left side of her face.

To be perfectly honest Victus didn’t care, she was a soldier and soldiers acquired scars, it didn’t diminish her in the slightest. “Doesn’t matter.” He shrugged as she moved toward him. “I like your scars…you’re still beautiful.

She blushed and felt butterflies in her stomach, he was so very sweet, you wouldn’t think it to look at the battle tested Turian but he was as soft hearted and romantic as they came when he wanted to be. She giggled but said nothing to his statement, nothing needed to be said, he wasn’t looking for a reply he was simply speaking the truth. “So, how’d it go?”

“Oh, I’m in trouble…again.” He answered bluntly. “I misused a military asset and was not where I was ordered to be. Sparatus helped smooth everything down though…I think he realized how close we all came to annihilation because of stubbornness.” He explained and sat down in the chair to his left. “Then Hackett asked to speak,”

“Hackett?”

“Yeah…he said that without Maridus’ tactical analysis ahead of the battle the outcome might not have been as efficient…he had more but I was more stunned by the idea that a human Admiral who I probably shot at during 314 would step up and put in a good word for me.” Fedorian was pissed, that he was aware of, but having the Council and the Alliance behind him would definitely help, he counted his blessings that the Hierarchy didn’t know about the Rothla intelligence that was passed on…he’d be court-martialed for that and Desala would be jailed. He grabbed her arm and pulled her onto his lap. “And you?”

Sidda giggled as he gently cradled her careful to avoid the tender spots. “Oh, I stole a warship…they’re saving my ass chewing until I get to Arcturus. Both of us…me and Anderson.”

“Seems I’ve rubbed off on you.” Victus purred and traced his right index finger down her temple and cheek. He was a wild card, played fast and loose with what was accepted and it worked for him. 

Sidda chuckled; it was odd how alike they really were, the similarity wasn’t something people usually saw but the reality was that Humans and Turians were more alike than people thought. “I was a hellion long before you, Baby.” She took in a breath as Victus growled and raked his teeth on the left side of her neck. 

**

The Normandy sustained damage during the fight but it was relatively minor, in the grand scheme of things the Lante took more damage trying to protect them and ensure that they found their target. Cerrus was just now getting around to moving his gear from the Normandy to the Lante. Working on sweeping the Citadel had taken up so much of his time but now was time to prepare for a return to his ship. 

He was methodical, like everything he did, first he packed the armor away in crates, then he moved onto his weapons; he cleared his weapons and stored them safely with the armor, next were the modification and demolitions he brought along, and then went to his personal items. Or a personal item in his case, he only brought one thing from the Lante. He looked at the picture and he wasn’t sure how long he’d been standing there until voice caught his attention. 

“Hey,” Tali greeted, it was more like announcing her presence than anything else. Cerrus was career military…not someone you just snuck up on. 

He snapped from his trance and looked down at the little Quarian that had appeared by him. “Hey,” he replied in kind as he resumed packing up the clothes and personal items. “what are you doing here?”

“Looking for you.” She replied quietly and picked up the picture from open bag he was packing everything into. “She was really pretty, Tyr.”

Cerrus felt the uncomfortableness and then swallowed. “Yeah she was.” He said finally trying to work through how he felt. Tali returned the picture to the bag, folded her arms across her chest, and leaned on Shepard’s locker. 

Tali felt a little nervous, Cerrus made her happy but now that he was leaving she wasn’t sure how it would impact them. “So…” she began nervously then found a bout of courage. “what is next for us?” she asked bluntly and Cerrus looked back down at her. 

“What?”

“Well, you’re going back to the Lante and as soon as Shepard is done investigating a lead for me, I’ll be back on my pilgrimage.”

“What lead?” he asked as he closed the locker. 

“I found something on the Geth when I was searching through the data nodes, I asked Shepard to help me look into it and she said she would.”

“Going after the Geth, Tali, that’s dangerous?” he commented but all Tali did was scoff. 

“So was chasing after Saren.” She replied and Cerrus couldn’t argue with her there. 

There was a moment of silence before Cerrus circled back to her initial question. “Tali, just because I’m moving from the Normandy to the Lante doesn’t mean I’m not going to be interested in you anymore. I’ll always be interested, and if you ever need me…for anything at all…you call me.” 

Tali blushed under her suit and felt her stomach flutter. Cerrus was sweet under all that pain and anger and she was happy to have him. “You mean that?”

Cerrus put his right hand on her cheek. “Of course I mean it, Tali…I’m not like Nov or most others, I don’t love them and leave them.” Tali’s smile could be heard, he didn’t need to see it and he smiled too. 

“You want to help me take this over?” he asked after a long moment and Tali nodded happily. 

On the way out they saw Sidda, Cerrus merely brushed off her presence but Tali was happy to see her. “Shepard,” she began happily. It was good to see her up and walking around. Everyone had been so worried about her but she was now on her feet and seemed none the worse for wear. “it’s good to see you up.”

Sidda smiled. “Thanks, Tali.” She said and nodded to Cerrus. “Cerrus.”

“Commander.” He replied plainly. 

Sidda noticed his gear packed away and snorted, as much a pain in the ass as he was she was sorry to see him go. Cerrus was effective; he was extremely effective, despite his more disagreeable aspects. “Sure you don’t want to stick around, Captain?”

Cerrus harrumphed, not even maybe, being around Tali was one thing…being stuck on a ship with this many humans was something else. “Pass.” He said and started moving from her.

Sidda was compelled to stop him and spoke up. “Cerrus,” Sidda began and the Turian stopped. “I know you didn’t have a choice in this assignment, but I’m glad you were there for it. Thank you.”

Cerrus wasn’t going to pretend he liked the assignment, he met Kaidan who’d turned out to be a very good friend and then there was Tali…Tali was different. “Next time take Nov.” he said straightening his posture, a tick that she’d noticed when he was uncomfortable. “You’ll have more fun.”

Sidda chuckled. “Nonsense…you’re a barrel of laughs.”

Cerrus chuckled slightly. Sidda was as annoying to him as they came, always managed to get into trouble and drag them all along, with Sidda, the easiest mission could go awry in the blink of an eye. “Only compared to you.”

Sidda laughed. “Oh, he cracks a joke.” She chuckled as Cerrus started walking again.

**

The Citadel was still heavily damaged in some areas but life on the station was slowly returning to normal. The Normandy and the Lante were both docked for repairs and everyone had been called to meet up in the VIP section of the Nightshade Bar in the section of the Zakera Ward that wasn’t damaged. It was a large room with a big table, lots of chairs, and couches. It honestly looked like it was a conference room; Garrus helpfully informed them that a lot of illegal insider trading went on in rooms like this and a lot of legal conferences too. 

It was the first time Sidda had seen Kalvaris and by all accounts he was the one that found her under all that rubble. Now, she took the time to thank the barefaced Turian by giving him a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek. Nov she’d seen already, he visited her in the hospital, but he seemed to be keeping his distance…less familiar with her it seemed. 

Drinks were ordered and the servers kept them coming, no one was quite sure who was paying for all this but they were told that the tab was covered so they drank. They shared stories and laughed…it was good to see them all unwind. 

Kaidan was a subtle flirt and was once again flirting with one of the Asari servers; Nov was flirting too with all the female servers, Asari and Human. Cerrus sat quietly across the table from Sidda and Victus with Tali and enjoyed his drinks ignoring Kaidan’s flirting going on to his left. Liara was a little more relaxed and seemed to have struck up a friendship…maybe more…with the big Turian Ruvvak. Sidda’s eyes narrowed, they would have made an interesting pair, she liked Ruvvak, he was a good man who enjoy blowing things up. The two Turian females, Desala and Rajin bracketed Garrus and the cop was flustered when Desala leveled flirts toward him. Rajin didn’t flirt with him, Sidda was surprised to see her even, and still she hadn’t said anything to Sidda. The Medic still blamed her for Nihlus’ death, as she should since Sidda still blamed herself. Kalvaris and Masso, long time buddies and squad mates, sat together with their feet propped up tossing jabs across the table at anyone that perked their interest. Mostly to Wrex, the big Krogan just laughed, and Cerrus, teasing him about his newfound relationship with Tali. Cerrus promised to kill them later. 

Sidda was sandwiched between two Turians, Maridus to her right and Victus to her left. Maridus was being a poor wingman to Garrus as it seemed the Desala was interesting in testing her limits with Garrus only flustering him more. Victus wasn’t helping, the General may have been the boss but there was a reason why his troops loved him. He could be one of them in moment’s notice, drink, fight, and crack jokes. He was still the boss but he was one of them. 

“Shepard, you broke a Mako…a Mako…how does someone do that?” Joker laughed, the fact Sidda did what most crash test designers couldn’t do was feat. Not an altogether proud one either. She simply shrugged and sipped her beer. 

“Crash it through a Relay, apparently.” Garrus replied, dryly. He had firsthand knowledge what it was like when the safety features broke as the tank nosedived into the Presidium. “You know when I signed on to help catch Saren, crashing a Mako onto the Citadel through a mini Mass Relay was not in the brochure.” 

“But those things are supposed to be indestructible. Indestructible.” Joker went on; of all the things that had taken place trying to get a wrecked Mako out of the Presidium was one for the highlight reel. 

“That’s what happens when you let Shepard drive.” Kaidan quipped and the Normandy members all looked at him trying to stifle laughs. 

“Says the person who got the Mako so stuck it took the Normandy to get it unstuck?” Joker laughed as Kaidan turned three shades of pink and tried to hide behind his drink. 

“Yes, Flight Lieutenant, I got it stuck but she destroyed it.” He hissed with no heat in return. 

“Hey, no rank, Kaidan.” Sidda reminded, they’d agreed to leave the rank at the door this evening, they all needed a break and unwind. 

Servers came by and replenished the drinks and Nov rose to his feet attracting the attention in the room. “I’d like to take this moment to recognize the illustrious Commander,” Nov began and Sidda groaned nothing good could come from this. “who never fails to rope us all into something extremely shitty.”

“ ‘Us all’? Cal, you weren’t even there for half of it.” Cerrus commented with a snorted as he swirled the glass in his had making the blue liquid move like a world pool. 

Nov held up and finger with an embellished movement. “Which brings me to my next gripe,” He continued, “I, the king of tech and the Commander’s undisputed favorite,” there was a pause as Victus made a face, harmless mostly but the General still felt Nov’s familiarity with Sidda was unsettling. “well…slightly undisputed, gets sidelined and she takes her definitely undisputed least favorite. What gives?”

Sidda chuckled, taking Nov certainly would have eliminated half her headaches but Cerrus was the one she needed despite his daily bitter scowl. “I needed fearless tactician, Cal, that ain’t you.”

Nov put his right hand over his heart and feigned an insult. “That hurts, Sid.” He replied, his sincerity was practiced and dead on. 

Cerrus scoffed, he would have paid Nov to go in his place. “So you picked me against my will?” Cerrus asked and Sidda smirked.

“Worked out for you in the end.” She teased; the Turian either blushed from embarrassment or rage. She couldn’t tell which but Tali only giggled to the bantering. 

Kaidan’s snort drew some attention, his idea of how this mission would play out was similar to Garrus’, ‘not in the brochure’. “Yeah because those of us who were obligated by uniform to follow her lead had a picnic.” Kaidan muttered, in all his time in the military he’d never been put into that much peril that often…the Commander certainly wasn’t dull. 

Nov laughed and Sidda gave him a mock glare. “There goes your promotion, Lieutenant.” 

Victus chuckled deeply. “Rank, Sidda.” He reminded. 

“Come on, Shepard, I got shot…twice.” He replied and Cerrus, next to him, scoffed.

Cerrus was used to the daily peril and being shot. “So did I…and burned, smashed by a Krogan, and tossed around in a Mako that careened through a Mass Relay.” He snorted. To that last part, he paused, that sounded crazy and no one but this crowd would ever believe it if he told them. 

Sidda grinned tipping her glass to her rival. “And you took it like a trooper, Captain.” That wasn’t her using rank; she called him either Cerrus or Captain. That was it. 

“I got shot too…” Garrus chimed in as Cerrus scoffed. “don’t see me complaining.”

Most would think that two Turians on a human vessel would gravitate toward each other…not in this case; they couldn’t be more different. Sure, they figured out how to work with each other but Garrus was of the firm opinion that Cerrus was an ass. “That wouldn’t have happened if you’d had better armor than that C-Sec crap.” 

Garrus didn’t like to admit that the Captain was right but in this case he was. The heavy armor Cerrus lent him was easily ten times better than his C-Sec armor, it also reminded him to put in the requisition for heavy armor of the same type. 

As amusing as this was to listen to, the topic had strayed from Nov and he corrected that. “And I survived, along with the rest of you, being dropped into an asteroid field, in a Mako onto the remains of an urban legend planet…thank you, Sidda, for the memories.”

Sidda laughed as she finished another beer. “And you wanted to come along for the full ride.” Nov shrugged, he wouldn’t have cared what they did. 

Wrex had so far been unimpressed with the drinks; Ryncol was had to come by so they brought him the strongest stuff they could find. He was on his second bottle of a Human drink called Absinthe. Sidda’s stomach turned, she’d only had that once and would never try it again. Wrex seemed to love it. “You couldn’t have handled it all, Buttercup…still want to sit on my lap?” Wrex chimed in.

Nov paused and looked at the big Krogan with a cocked head as those who had been in the Mako that day just laughed. “Really, Wrex…you like me that much?”

“Well that just got awkward.” Masso commented. “What the hell happened on that ship?”

Kalvaris took his feet off the table and snorted. “Something tells me I don’t want to know.” He muttered to him but loud enough the table heard. “Don’t think Shepard’s appalling bad luck is restricted to you guys…we had her first and in all my years on the Lante I’ve never seen that much crazy.”

Sidda’s brow furrowed. “Come on, Rik, it wasn’t that bad.” She said as her drink was replaced. 

Victus disagreed; Sidda did attract interesting missions that much he knew. “He’s not wrong, Sid.” Victus commented ignoring her amusing look of betrayal.

“There was the Batarian slaver-…” Kalvaris began but was abruptly cut off by Cerrus of all people. 

“Run of the mill. Doesn’t count.” He said plainly. He was right; slavers were the most common assignments they received. 

Kalvaris scowled to his, once again, commanding officer. “That was the first time she threatened to shoot you too.” He said to Cerrus and Sidda snorted. 

“Not nearly the last.” Sidda muttered. Victus elbowed her, as much as Cerrus antagonized her she returned it in kind. Cerrus and Sidda simply glared at each other across the table.

“Then there was her and the Major sliding down a platform on a recently stable planet until they got there, then the science station…” Kalvaris paused to the glare from Victus. “that will remain classified…the Alliance team that lead to a catastrophic blow out between these two.” He said gesturing to Cerrus and Sidda, to this day he’d never seen a fight more brutal than that one. 

“And Oriso.” Rajin commented quietly as she was beginning to enjoy herself a bit more. 

Cerrus squirmed. Oriso was a mission he rather just forget. “I thought we agreed to never talk about that again.” He said with a bit of growl in his voice. 

Sidda also squirmed, she didn’t remember what happened but the blanks had been filled in. The thought of coming on to Cerrus and Nov was as unsettling as it came. “Agreed.”

Joker gave Kaidan a look and cackled, they both thought the same thing. “Oh you can’t stop there.” Joker chuckled.

“Oh yes we can.” Cerrus replied sharply as Sidda whole heartedly agreed. 

“Some stories will never be told, Joker.” Sidda said and Nov remained silent as he was replaying that moment, however brief it was, in his mind. Like it or not for the rest of them, that was one of his fondest memories. 

“The fuel station.” Ruvvak went on. 

Maridus groaned that one he hated…he didn’t like disagreeing with Victus and that one was big one. “Oh, Spirits, don’t remind me of that.” Maridus muttered. 

“Then there was the mission to rescue Nihlus.” Kalvaris said. Getting Nihlus off of Ihm’shal was one of the most elaborate stunts they’d pulled. The only one injured was Nov, shot by a sniper that shattered his shoulder. 

At the mention of Nihlus’ name the room fell silent. There fallen comrade…murdered by his mentor. 

“At least you avenged him, Commander.”

“Don’t forget my first actual mission with her.” Maridus added, he never would he had a headache for a week after what they did to him. “Nearly got Nihlus and I killed but he talked about it for weeks…never been so damn irritated with the way a mission played out.”

“To Nihlus Kryik.” Maridus said raising his glass, the mood now solemn. Rajin looked at him but she wasn’t angry, more like grateful for the salute to her mate and raised her own glass. 

“And Chief Williams.” Cerrus added, the Normandy crew did a double take. Cerrus hated Ashley but here he was honoring her. The Lante crew knew better, they knew the story and how much Cerrus hated losing people and weren’t surprised by his words. 

**

The ass chewing on Arcturus didn’t disappoint, the brass was pissed that she and Anderson actually stole a warship from the locked down Citadel docks. Of course they had been correct and did the right thing by pursuing the leads so that had gone a long way in keeping them both out of the brig. Anderson had apparently also assaulted Udina in the course of his role to steal the ship and was fairly bitter that he’d been passed over as Councilor for Anderson on Sidda’s suggestion. Hackett had actually convinced the brass to let Sidda retain full command of the Normandy and continue as her role of Spectre and making sure the Geth in the Traverse stayed under control. It was a lot of smooth talking and Hackett turned out to be a tremendous ally, the legendary officer vouched for her and she walked away with a slap on the wrists. Now she was assigned to sniff out Geth in the Armstrong Nebula with Tali. 

“Admiral,” she called jogging to catch up to him. He paused long enough for her to pace him and kept walking. “I wanted to thank you for your support, Sir.”

Hackett gave her a slight nod as he kept walking. “You were right, Commander, no matter what anyone thought. You save a lot of lives, figured going to bat for you was the least I could do.” Sidda paused for a second, she thought Anderson was her best ally, but Hackett was proving to be even better. “Just don’t steal any more ships, Commander, and for the love of god…while you’re out there hunting Geth remember that you are still in the Alliance, no more going off book.”

Sidda nodded as she kept pace with him, sticking to the Alliance playbook was never really her strong suit. “Yes, Sir, and I wanted to also thank you for helping Adrien…Gen. Victus.”

Hackett responded with a single nod. “The General was an honorable ally, Commander, he and his crew fought bravely, they saved an Alliance ship which in turned sacrificed themselves to same them.” He explained and then changed the subject. “Find out what’s going on the Armstrong Nebula, Commander, and do it quickly.”

Sidda saluted him. “Yes, sir.” She said and the Admiral left. All things considered, she was lucky to leave Arcturus without a trip to the brig or a demotion; she got to keep her ship and crew and received an assignment. Tali had presented her findings about the Geth to Hackett and he agreed they needed to investigate. So, now she was bound with ship and crew, minus Liara, Cerrus, and Wrex for the Armstrong Nebula in the Skyllian Verge.


	34. Gone Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soundtrack for this chapter is:
> 
> Gone Away by The Offspring  
> Torn To Pieces by Pop Evil  
> Goodbye to You by Michelle Branch  
> Hemorrhage by Fuel

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Thirty Four: Gone Away

The Normandy was out investigating the Omega Nebula, the Geth seemed to still be a problem as ships were mysteriously disappearing. After a while, the Council got curious enough and sent their most famous Spectre to investigate. Half the crew thought it was bullshit but Sidda did her job as ordered, if the Geth were a continued problem it was best that they knew about it ahead of time before it became a lot worse. 

Kaidan had spent half the morning in the Medical Bay nursing an implant migraine and now carefully emerged to report for duty. He looked better than he had a few hours ago but it was obvious to her now how he looked on a normal day as opposed to one like today. The dark circles around his eyes, pale skin, and generally poor body language made her cringe. 

“Hey, Kaidan how’s the head?” Sidda asked passing him on her way to her quarters. 

The sentinel offered her a smile. “A little better, Commander,” he replied tiredly. 

Sidda shook her head in sympathy; L2s had it rough, rougher than any other biotic but Kaidan was one of the lucky ones, most died or suffered severe cognitive damage. “You should get that thing upgraded, Kaidan,” she advised. “L3s are much safer.”

Kadain scoffed, she was right about that but there was one rub. “But the procedure might kill me…I’ll stick with the L2 and the occasional debilitating headache.”

“Are you good for duty?” she asked him and Kaidan straightened nodding. She gave him credit where it was due, the man was tough; he’d been shot with a huge rifle on Virmire and was on his feet ready to go for the next mission. 

“Yeah…I’m fine, get some coffee in me and I’ll be fine,” he replied as she patted his shoulder. 

Sidda nodded briefly, she trusted him to do his job and so far had been a major asset. “We’re in the Omega Nebula…all quiet so far. Anything goes sideways let me know.”

Sidda sat relaxed on her bunk reading a letter from Victus; he’d been recalled to Palaven, again, to answer for his part in the pursuit of Saren. Sidda hadn’t seen him in week but he managed to send a letter, he assured her that he wasn’t getting court martialed so she figured it was an assignment. She held the datapad in her left hand and futzed with the Turian pendant on her dog tags with her right. After she’d read his letter twice she decided to respond back to her mother’s rather colorful response to the knowledge that her daughter was in a serious relationship with the Turian. Despite the shock of it all her mother was actually looking forward to meeting him…her father…well that might take a bit longer. 

The impact was hard enough to launch Sidda from the bed and into the shelf. She yelped as her forehead hit the shelf with enough force to draw blood. That was a weapon impact. Sidda scrambled to her feet as the ship rocked again. On the crew deck there was smoke, a fire was burning somewhere and she could see at last one crewmember down. She paused a moment to check for a pulse, the young woman was dead. Her ship was clearly under attack as it rocked again from another impact. 

“Pressley, Joker, what the hell’s going on?” she demanded as she reached her locker and proved that she could get into her armor in under a minute. 

“Pressley’s dead, Commander, we’re under attack. Unknown enemy.” Joker answered, the pilot was stressed but still under control. 

Sidda reached the emergency console at the back of the crew deck and tapped the screen. It was and auxiliary damage control console and she got a view of damage her ship had sustained, it was incredible. Multiple hull breeches and the core was damaged. She didn’t think, training kicked in and before she knew it there was an emergency distress beacon ready for launch. 

“Commander!” she heard Kaidan call from behind her. 

“Emergency distress beacon’s away,” she told him, her tone calm and collected as she pressed the ship wide comm. “All hands abandon ship. I repeat: all hands abandon ship.”

“The Alliance won’t get here in time, we’re too far out,” Kaidan said and Sidda would have to agree, if the Alliance didn’t find them someone would. 

“We don’t have a choice,” she said and grabbed a fire extinguisher; there was no way one fire extinguisher would save the ship but it would help clear the path to the escape pods. “Get everyone onto the escape pods.”

“Joker won’t abandon ship and I’m not leaving either.” 

Sidda grumbled. Of course Joker wouldn’t leave his baby, well…she was gonna make him. “Lieutenant, now,” her voice was firmer and her trusted medic obeyed. “I’ll get Joker.”

**

Traveling through her ship was like moving through hell, the frigate had sustained substantial damage and the loss of atmosphere in the CIC slowed her down. She felt a wave of nausea hit when she looked up above the galaxy map, the ceiling was missing, completely ripped away by whatever weapon hit it. There was so much debris flying around it nearly obscured the stars. Sidda returned her focus to getting to Joker, there was an escape pod in the cockpit so all she had to do was get him and they could both be gone in a few steps. 

“Joker!” she barked a little perturbed that she had to come and get him when the warship was falling apart. “What the hell are you doing, I told you to abandon ship?”

“No, I’m not leaving. I can still save her.” The pilot was attached to his ship just like any pilot would have been. The Normandy was a great vessel and played a major role in saving the galaxy, to lose her wasn’t fair. 

“The Normandy’s lost, Lieutenant, let’s go. Now!” It was an order and Joker obeyed, he didn’t want to but he obeyed. They needed to leave, now, because the unknown cruiser was coming around to finish them off. 

Sidda didn’t need sensors or LADAR to find it; she could see the great ship with the naked eye. It fired and a yellow beam hit what was left of the Normandy’s dorsal destroying what was left of the Operations stations between the CIC and the cockpit. Joker cried out in pain as Sidda roughly shoved him into the waiting escape pod. Something on the ship exploded and Sidda staggered, she couldn’t get the mag boots to engage but where the impact threw her probably saved her life as another yellow beam hit where she had been standing. 

She couldn’t get to the pod in time and made the decision. An explosion followed the beam but she made sure she hit the button for the pod to launch. The cockpit exploded and the force blasted her back into space. Sidda nearly lost consciousness when her head and shoulders hit something, a bulkhead from her once great ship. She watched in horror as the SSV Normandy died a traumatic death, the frigate exploded and the force blew her from it into the debris field that had been swirling around it. 

There was a brief moment when Sidda counted her lucky stars that she wasn’t killed in the blast, just pushed away from it. If she was really lucky she might survive long enough for someone to pick her up. The suit blared a warning, there was a suit rupture. 

As she fought to find it and save her own life she became painfully aware of an injury to the left shoulder, she could barely raise that arm in hurt so bad. It was a futile struggle as the suit’s warning became more and more dire. Oxygen levels dropped and dropped as she couldn’t reach the rupture and her world faded to black…this was how she died. 

Garrus’ shuttle approached the PFS Lante, after what had just happened he knew the Alliance hadn’t told Victus about what had happened to Sidda. He wasn’t sure exactly how he was going to tell him and the rest of the crew. Sidda was like family to them, which was a triumph for a human. 

Once onboard, Maridus stood at the edge of the Docking Bay waiting for him to arrive. When he heard Garrus was coming he decided to greet him personally. 

“Garrus,” Maridus greeted extending his hand to his friend, the two had known each other since childhood and it was great to see him again. “Welcome aboard, brother.”

Garrus shook his hand, had to admit he was happy to see Damar again. “Thank you,” he said but the situation at hand was weighing on his mind. “I need to speak to Victus,” he said and his tone made Maridus cock his head. 

“What happened?” he asked guessing something was very wrong, he had a knack for these things and was right 90% of the time. 

Garrus didn’t want to admit this by saying it out loud but he had to. “Sidda’s dead.”

Maridus felt like he’d been slapped in the face though he kept most of his shock under wraps but Garrus could see it in his eyes. He cleared his throat and pushed his emotions down. “This way,” he said quietly and headed up to Victus. 

The walk was silent, Maridus didn’t ask questions, he wanted to but it wasn’t his place yet. Victus deserved to know the details first. 

**

Victus was in his quarters reviewing reports when there was a tap on his door. “Enter,” he said and looked up seeing Maridus walk in with Garrus of all people. “Major,” he regarded and glanced over to Garrus. “Garrus.”

“Sir,” Maridus began and wanted to find a hole to hide in right now.

Victus looked Maridus up and down, something was wrong. “What’s going on?” he asked and stood, his regular posture with his hands behind his back. 

Garrus didn’t know how to say this, Sidda was his friend and felt that it was his duty to tell Victus what had happened. “Sir…” he began but stammered as the words got stuck in his mouth. “Sir…Sidda is dead,” he finally managed. Shock was an understatement; Victus looked at him and blinked several times. “She uhh...” he began but stopped himself. “The Normandy was attacked. She was spaced saving Joker.”

He felt himself go numb as he listened to him; losing Sidda was a nightmare for him. And losing another person he loved was even worse. He had to keep himself together, if he came apart now it wouldn’t help him and it wouldn’t bring her back. Maridus saw his reaction and knew his commanding officer to be calm and together about everything, losing Sidda could unglue him but Victus was silent. Both he and Garrus saw Victus’ mandibles clench tightly but didn’t show a hint of emotion after hearing about this. 

“I’m sorry, Sir,” Garrus finished and Victus got the impression that she not only meant everything to him but meant enough to Garrus for him to come all this way to tell him in person. 

“Is there anything else?” he asked quietly, turning away from them both.

Garrus shook his head and glanced back to Maridus. “No, Sir,” he said and Victus said nothing but Maridus knew it was time to leave him alone. 

The door closed leaving Victus alone with his new demon to deal with. His jaw was clenched so tight it was starting to hurt and both hands had become solid fists. He was a calm man, he always kept his façade of calm, cool, and collected but it faltered. His temper flared from all the pain welling in him and he cleared the nearest counter top with an angry sweep of his right arm. He roared as the contents clattered and shattered on the floor before standing seething. She couldn’t be dead…how could she be dead?

**

After delivering the worst news ever to Victus, Garrus and Maridus meandered through the halls and made their way to training room. The news shocked Maridus but there was another on board that was going to feel the same. 

“Cal.” Maridus call quietly drawing his attention from a hand to hand class he was instructing. He turned and saw the major gesture for him to come over. 

“Garrus?” he stated, surprised to see him there. “What are you doing here? Please tell me we don’t have to save the galaxy again.”

Garrus managed a scoff. “Not yet,” he said but his tone made Nov nervous. 

“What’s going on?” he asked. “You okay, Garrus?”

Maridus sighed. “Cal, Sidda’s dead,” he blurted, quick so there was less pain. 

Nov blinked, trying to process those words. When they registered in his brain he let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and took a half step back. Controlling his emotions was key right now. “What?” that was the only thing he could say the shock in his voice was readily apparent. 

“The Normandy was attacked by an unknown ship…Sidda was spaced,” he paused gauging Nov’s reaction. “When the ship exploded…the Alliance never found her body,” Nov blinked a few times more and could feel his body going numb starting at his toes and working its way up. The rest of what Garrus had said didn’t sink in right away as Nov just turned away from them and walked out. 

Maridus and Garrus watched as Nov walked away from them seeming to be stunned beyond belief. Cerrus narrowed his eyes as Nov practically ran him over on the way out. Cerrus looked over his shoulder a little confused by Nov’s obvious behavior. His attention returned to Maridus and Garrus and he cocked his head. “What happened?” he asked suspiciously.

Maridus sighed and was already tired of this detail. “Shepard’s dead, Tyr.”

Cerrus blinked, he was shocked really. He didn’t think anything could bump off the human pain in the ass but after all the grief she gave him and the hell the two of them put each other through he felt the loss. “How?”

“The Normandy was attacked,” Garrus responded tired of talking about this. “She was spaced.”

He may not have liked Sidda per say but he didn’t wish her harm and certainly didn’t wish her dead. “Spirits,” he breathed. “Does the General know?” 

Cerrus kicked himself for that question, of course Victus knew. What kind of question was that? “Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, Victus knows.”

“Garrus, you were on the Normandy… what happened?” Cerrus asked and Garrus grumbled having to regale the tale one more time. 

Nov was feeling something new. He’d been angry before, hell he’d been in a rage before but this was far beyond that. He’d had one real relationship in his life but he and Shala ended things on pretty good terms, but Sidda was someone he felt he truly loved. He never told her that directly and now he was going to have to live with that regret. He was walking; to the crew he was more like storming, through the corridor. You didn’t have to be a genius to know he was angry and upset. He came to a stop in the Rec Room; it was an open room that had two ways in and out shaped like a cul-de-sac. His fists were balled up so tight his claws were digging into his palms. The anger he was feeling was a mix of rage at those who killed her, the fact he wasn’t there, and the fact that he let her slip away from him. He was also exceedingly upset that she was dead and walking out in a fog of shock and rage. 

His bubbling mix of extreme emotions bubbled over and he thoroughly exploded. Nov cleared the counter to his left with a swing of his left arm. The enraged Turian spun to the long table where he remembered SIdda recovering from the hangover from Oblivion, with another swing of, this time, his right hand he knocked the various glasses and plates off the table and sent the started crew members scattering. He actually hadn’t realized anyone was in there, his blind rage had taken over and he was releasing all that anger and pain on the Rec Room. He grabbed the back of one of the chairs and removed the top half from where it had been bolted to the deck. With a loud yell that sounded like a roar he used the half a chair as his weapon. He proceeded to smash anything he wanted. The canisters on the counter tops were crushed and any light he could find was destroyed. Sometime during the destruction of the Rec Room he threw the chair into the audience he attracted sending them scattering then turned his fists on the glass doors to the cooler. It took a few punches to break the glass but he succeeded not even feeling the deep cuts to his fingers and knuckles from the very sturdy glass. With the cooler now destroyed he managed to rip the long metal handle off of one of the doors and swung it like a bat at the next counter top shattering the trinkets then came to the card table where he and Maridus hustled Sidda at Poker on her birthday. With a flurry of overhead swings he beat on the card table about a dozen times, blood was starting to splatter onto the deck from the wounds on his hands. After putting a considerable dent into the table he went after the most expensive item in the room. He swung the weapon and hit the large flat wall monitor as hard as he could. He remembered Sidda’s birthday again, watching the Biotiball game where Sidda and Desala got into a biotic arm wrestling match. Too many memories in this room…too many memories on this whole ship. Sidda had left her mark on the ship, the crew, and him. 

His assault on the monitor continued until he did away with the weapon and physically ripped the thing off the wall. It was hanging by a thread any way so he finished the task and threw it as far as he could. The huge monitor crashed to the deck half on the card table and half on the deck sending bits and pieces of it flying across the room like shrapnel.   
The audience he had attracted had enough sense not to stop him but also to go get someone. That someone was Maridus and Cerrus. They both blinked at the state of the Rec Room, it looked like a bomb went off. By the time Nov had completed his renovation, every chair was shredded and more than half were broken, the couch was turned inside out, the cooler was busted and leaking the beverages all over the deck, counter tops were cluttered with bits of debris from everything in the room, cabinets were hanging open with their contents spilled on the floor, the card table was covered by half of the monitor and the other half was in pieces on the deck and chairs, traces of blood were seen on the deck throughout the room.

“Fuck,” Cerrus exclaimed stunned. 

Maridus thought the same thing as he stood next to him and was just as blown away by the damage as Cerrus was. “Spirits!” he breathed.

“Nov, did this?” Cerrus questioned, it was a clarification on the information from a crewmember not really a legitimate question. He’d heard of Nov’s bad temper but never witnessed it for himself. He still hadn’t, this was the aftermath.

Maridus moved into the warzone and spied Nov sitting on the deck under where the monitor had been. His knees were pulled up close to his chest with his forearms resting on his knees. His hands were shaking and dripping blood onto the deck. “Cal?” Maridus announced but got no response from the Turian. “Captain?” He said again and saw Nov gingerly adjust the position of his trembling right hand. 

“Major,” Nov replied quietly and Maridus moved toward him cautiously. If Nov had done this to the Rec Room he could only imagine what he could or would do to a person. 

“What did you do?” he asked and knelt down next to him looking at the deep cuts. 

Nov knew what he did in his blind rage. “I didn’t hurt anyone,” he replied as Maridus took his left hand gently inspecting the injuries. 

“Just yourself,” Maridus stated. “These are deep, Cal, let’s go see Holum.”

Nov sharply jerked his hand away from Maridus. “I don’t need to. I’m fine,” he growled and Maridus’ demeanor went from friendly concern to stern authority.

“That’s an order, Captain,” he ordered and earned a glare from Nov. He wasn’t above fighting him but he had to admit his hands hurt…a lot.

Nov got to his feet refusing help from Maridus and Cerrus and causing his lacerations to bleed more. Maridus looked around the room and shook his head. There had to be at least 40,000 credits worth of damage here.

Maridus confined Nov to his quarters once Holum patched up his hands, he was laying on his bunk still in shock over the news. He said nothing to Holum in the few hours he spent in medical and said very little to Maridus to explain his actions. He had gingerly sifted through his locker and found the item he wanted. It was an image taken of them during her birthday. It was just a casual picture that Masso had captured during one of the many card games that night. He didn’t display it in his quarters because he didn’t want to disrespect Victus if he ever ventured to his quarters but he did look at it often. Sidda had become the only female, Turian, Asari, or otherwise that he loved. Shala was a long term relationship and yes he did care for her and liked her a lot but what he felt for Sidda was exponentially different. She was the one person he loved and the one person he let get away. Now he’d lost her forever and that was something he’d never forgive himself for.

He lay on his bunk staring at the picture burning the image of her face into his mind. He didn’t want to forget her, he never would and he made a decision right then and there to curse all deities he’d seen or heard about, Asari gods, Hanar gods, Human gods…even the Spirits; he’d never pray to them again because of this. 

**

The tension on the ship was palpable, too tense, no one spoke to Victus unless they absolutely had to but it wasn’t getting any better. Maridus actually called Tarquin told him the news and they’d picked him up in route. 

“So what happened to Sidda?” Tarquin asked Maridus. 

Maridus sighed heavily. “Spaced,” he replied as they walked to the guest quarters. It wasn’t unusual for Tarquin to be aboard, he’d train here for a time and then move to his own assignments. Turians didn’t care about family serving with family. The consequences for misconduct were severe and often enough of a deterrent for anyone playing favorites.   
Tarquin looked like his father but his skin was lighter, something he’d inherited from his mother. “Garrus, the Turian that was serving with her, is still on board. The Normandy was destroyed.”

Tarquin shook his head; the idea that his father lost another person he cared about almost broke his heart. He’d grown up with his closed off father and had seen a change in him when he met Sidda. Like Any Turian he had a volatile temper, and they were extra volatile when it came to their mates. “Spirits.”

“He won’t talk about it,” Maridus grumbled, burying it was a recipe for disaster but the more Maridus pushed the deeper Victus buried it. 

Tarquin wasn’t surprised. “And no one can make him and it’s best not to press him.”

Maridus shook his head. “I disagree…it’s going to tear him up until he can’t take it anymore that puts us all in danger.”

Tarquin stopped and pulled Maridus to a stop as well. “So why am I here?” Tarquin asked his tone more of an irritated growl. 

“Because he needs to talk to somebody.”

Tarquin scoffed derisively. “He’s not going to talk to me, Major,” Maridus’ long glower made Tarquin huff. “Fine. I’ll try.”

Tarquin tapped on the door to his father’s quarters but heard no answer to enter nor did anyone come to the door, he tapped again but still no answer. Tarquin understood tech and tapped his omni-tool a few times to override the door. It opened to reveal a dark room; his quarters were in order say for scattered items and some broken glass that used to be a mirror. 

“Dad,” Tarquin announced seeing his father sitting with an unopened bottle of Turian Brandy. 

Victus inclined his head to one side acknowledging him but didn’t turn around; it was the only time he smiled in days. “You’re getting far too good at that, Tarquin,” he commented.

Tarquin shrugged and sat down in the chair across from him. “You didn’t answer,” he replied and paused a moment before saying more. “The crew is worried.” Victus poured a glass of the Brandy he’d been working on and Tarquin found another, father and son could break the ice with a drink. Victus poured a glass for his son.

Victus shrugged as if waving him off. “They have Maridus, they’ll be fine.”

Tarquin bit back a grumble, he was stubborn…very stubborn. “Dad…they need you. Not the Major, you.” 

Victus sipped the Brandy. “Son, leave me alone. I don’t want to talk.”

Tarquin stopped his pushing, it wasn’t going to help and he could see his father was hurting. “I’m sorry I never got to know her better,” he said quietly after a long silence. 

Victus took another drink; there were so many things he regretted when it came to Sidda. The first was he never took her as his mate and the second was he didn’t get to spend near enough time with her. “I should have married her,” he said out of the blue after an even longer silence. 

Tarquin said nothing since his father voluntarily offered that up and raised his glass toward him. “To, Sidda.”

“May her Spirit watch over Lante,” Victus added. 

“And us all,” Tarquin put in eying his father trying to judge his mental state. Maridus was right; his father was a time bomb just waiting for the right match.

Maridus could tell that if Victus didn’t talk about Sidda he was going to implode at the most inopportune time. For almost a week he was silent and kept to himself more than he usually did, the entire crew had heard what had happened and tried their best to stay out of his crosshairs, as a result Maridus saw an uptick in people passing him rosters, reports, questions…more than usual. He brought Tarquin aboard, an act that got him all but reamed by Victus later but deep down Victus understood why he did it. 

Victus found a little solace in the training room; this is where he and Sidda spent a lot of time together so it was a bittersweet place for him to be. Nov was present on the other side of room but then again he was always in the training room. Nov was one of the first Turians on board that grew to respect her, enough to relinquish his command of Argo Unit to her for a year. He was also one of the few on board that felt it best to leave Victus alone, to let him work out the loss by himself.

Maridus didn’t share Nov’s opinion or Tarquin’s for that matter, he knew Victus well enough to know that Sidda’s death was going to bring back the old pain of Miral and cause the General to falter when they would need him the most. He walked into the Training Room and acknowledged Nov but turned his attention to Victus. “General, you need to talk about this,” Maridus said approaching him.

Victus was growing annoyed with Maridus pushing him, he was right but he didn’t want to talk about anything. “For the last time, Major, I don’t want to talk about anything.” 

“You have to!” Maridus snapped in a raised tone causing Victus to look over at him sharply. Did he lose his mind? No one talked to him that way; he was a highly respected General and the last person you wanted to fuck with, especially regarding a personal matter.

“I don’t!” he snarled back making Nov look up and pay attention to the situation brewing. “She was a soldier. Soldiers die,” he growled at him and that offended and pissed off Maridus. 

“You don’t believe that!” he boomed. “Sidda was more than just a soldier to everyone on this ship. She was my friend and I know how much you loved her so don’t stand there and tell me that she meant more to me than she did to you.” He knew he was taking his life into his own hands by saying this to his face but he wanted to provoke a response, to get him to work it out. Victus’ blood boiled at that comment. “If you really loved her you wouldn’t be able to just turn it off. You didn’t love her…you wouldn’t even marry her.”

Victus finally snapped and swiftly advanced on him with a hard punch to the face. The force of his hit staggered him back but he caught himself to set up for another hit. He succeeded in provoking a response from Victus. He succeeded all too well.

Nov stood keeping an eye on this inevitable explosion taking place. Victus was the superior fighter onboard and he was the second rated. Maridus was not known for his hand to hand skills and he was the target for a highly distraught and pissed off man. “Tarquin, it’s Callus, you need to come to the training room and bring Vakarian with you. Double time it,” he said into his Omni-Tool, the tone of his voice reflected the worry and severity of the situation. “This is gonna get out of hand fast.”

Victus was in a rage, one week of the worst bottled up pain imaginable was now boiling over. This wasn’t a controlled fight, Victus was angry and hurt and he was going to hurt someone in this case, Maridus. Maridus kept up for a time but a combination hit from Victus knocked him onto his back, this would have been the time to stop but Victus wasn’t following any rules. He stepped over him and put his left knee down grabbing Maridus’ tunic with his left hand and continued pummeling him with his right fist. 

“General!” Nov yelled running toward him and grabbing his right arm to stop him from his attack. Victus elbowed Nov hard in the mouth and shoved him off hitting Maridus again.  
Victus kept hitting Maridus with savage hits, bones were cracking but he didn’t care. As Nov reached him Tarquin and Garrus scrambled around the corridor and into the room, they could hear Nov yelling from the hall. “Dad!” Tarquin yelled rushing toward him. 

Nov regained his feet and they all reached Victus at the same time. “General! Stop! You’re going to kill him!” Nov yelled as he tried again to catch his arm. Tarquin grabbed his other arm from behind and put his right arm around his father’s chest using his weight to pull him back. 

“Stop!” Tarquin barked as Victus shoved Nov off his right arm but found it challenging to get away from his son. “Stop!”

There was a pause as Victus realized exactly what he had just done. Maridus was a bloody mess and unconscious, his left mandible was obviously broken as blood was coming from his nose and mouth. The anger passed and turned to overwhelming emotional sadness. He collapsed back into Tarquin and it hit him. She was gone. Sidda was dead, he’d lost another one. 

Tarquin held his father as he came down from his intense rage; Victus was still angry and would love to kill someone but Tarquin kept him restrained. The weight of Sidda’s death hit him and he let out an agonizing, emotional scream. 

Everyone in the room could feel the pain radiating off him, they all missed her, and she meant a lot to each of them for different reasons but none of them could imagine Victus’ pain. 

Garrus was more intent on the bloody mess that was Maridus. “Damar? Damar, can you hear me?” he asked surveying his injuries. “Captain, he needs to get to medical now.”  
Nov turned away from them and keyed his omni-tool calling Holum to the training room.

**

In Medical, Maridus was considered to be severely wounded. Garrus hadn’t really left the bay and that was bugging the hell out of Dr. Holum. He was doing everything he could for Maridus but the reconstruction was extensive. Victus had shattered his left mandible and broken his jaw, for a Turian the jaw would heal but the mandible was the hard part. 

“Holum.” Victus greeted entering the medical bay quietly catching sight of Garrus at the last bed containing his friend. 

“General.” Holum said coldly. “Come to see your handy work?” he hissed and earned a glare from Victus.

“Careful, Doctor,” he growled back. “How is he?”

Holum glowered at his commanding officer. “Well, aside from his broken jaw and shattered mandible he should be fine.” He said in a very pointed statement. “Disfigured, but fine.”

Victus owned that, he knew what he did and was nowhere near proud of it. “Get on with it, Doctor, what do you need?” he hissed at him. He knew what he’d done and accepted it. 

“Palaven. Thessia, Citadel, even Earth…somewhere that I can put him back together.”

Victus nodded slightly and looked over at Maridus but kept the rooms length in distance. “Which is best?” he asked. He’d go anywhere to fix his friend, his condition was his fault and he aimed to correct that. 

“The Citadel,” he answered quickly. “A multitude of medical personnel, he may need synthetics or biometrics.”

Victus nodded and turned to walk away, the fact that he didn’t even bother to see Maridus angered Garrus. “General,” Garrus barked in a raised tone, not yelling at him but just enough to get his attention. Victus paused and looked back at him but waited for Garrus to approach him. 

“Yes?” he asked with a sigh. 

“You almost kill him and you don’t even want to see him?” he growled. 

Victus heaved a sigh and showed he was growing annoyed. Maridus was his friend and he was concerned for his well-being especially since his condition was his fault, but he simply couldn’t face what he had done. “Vakarian, you’re trying my patience,” he said but realized that wasn’t the right thing to say. “I understand your anger. He is my friend as well,” he said but his tone dropped to shame. “But I can’t face him right now.”Garrus could understand why Victus didn’t want to see him but he looked at Maridus like a brother and to see him hurt like that made him angry. “You’re onboard as a courtesy, I thank you for watching over Sidda and for coming in person to tell me what happened, but don’t ever talk to me like that again,” he warned and walked away from him. 

**

Since news of Sidda’s death the ship’s command structure had damn near collapsed. Victus blew up at Maridus and rendered him unconscious with severe injuries, Nov destroyed the Rec Room and no one on the ship who knew and respected Sidda wanted to talk about a damn thing. After what had happed to Maridus, Victus’ confidence in his leadership was shaken so when they reached the Citadel he relieved himself of command placing Cerrus in command of the ship. Cerrus didn’t want the job and nearly gave it Ruvio as soon as he got it but he assumed the mantle anyway. 

The events in the Training Room had spread all over the ship, everyone knew that Victus lost control, maybe even his mind, and put Maridus in Medical. The crew walked on eggshells around him so when they reached The Citadel his last order to Cerrus was to give the crew shore leave. 

Citadel Hospital was the best hospital on the Citadel and Maridus was rushed there to begin what would probably be a very long recovery. That hospital was the best choice because of its access to cross species techniques and physicians, by the time they got there the Turian Ward had sent an army of doctors and there were specialists on hand after the overview had been received from Holum.

Victus entered the surgical wing of the hospital slowly; he wanted an update but still could not face his friend he nearly beat to death. He didn’t want to be in this hospital anyway, the next wing over was recovery, the place where he’d waited for Sidda to wake up after Sovereign literally fell on her.

“Victus!” a female Turian voice called sharply and he looked in the direction of it. He saw an average height Turian female with the same Palaven blue face paint that Maridus and Garrus had. He knew exactly who it was and was really not looking forward to seeing or speaking with her. 

“Solana-…” he started but was cut off by a hard punch across the face from her. 

She hit him good making him take a forced step back grunting at the pain in his jaw now. “You, Bastard!” she snarled and was going to hit him again but he caught her wrist to stop her. “You almost killed him!” she yelled trying to get her arm free from his grip. Solana was a feisty one and struggled against him hitting him with her other hand until he caught them both. “He idolizes you! Look what you did to him!”

“Solana, stop!” he barked now controlling both her hands and understanding her pain. “Stop!” Solana stopped fighting against him and he pulled her into a hug. His shame deepened seeing her; he deserved everything she gave him and whatever hate she bore toward him. “I am so sorry,” he said. “I never meant to hurt him.”

Solana wasn’t going to let him get away with that and pushed away from him. “You almost beat him to death,” she snapped. “What did you expect?”

Victus dropped his head not afraid to reveal his guilt to her. “I didn’t mean to,” he said but those words didn’t offer any explanation for her and she shoved him backward.

“Then why did you do it?” she snapped again.

“I lost someone,” he said and continued to glare at him. “Someone I cared-…” he stopped abruptly and refused to meet her eyes. “Someone I loved, very much.”

“So you took it out on Damar?” she questioned with a cold, damning tone.

“He tried to help me and I lost control,” he confessed and she eyed him with a hostile glare before walking away from him without another word.

**

Cerrus didn’t bother to leave the ship; he had things to take care of. Namely holding the crew together, mostly it was a few members that needed to be tended to. Nov was his biggest concern. He destroyed one entire room, while Victus damn near killed Maridus in a blind rage he had expected something like that from him. Nov’s reaction was a little more of mystery, he knew he respected her and had feelings for her but hadn’t thought for a moment that news of her death would have garnered a reaction like that. Now Nov stood before him, his expression seemed empty and cold…he’d seen it before…in the mirror. Cerrus was scared to death to use Victus’ office so he used the War Room. 

“Callus, with Maridus in the hospital and Victus relieved of command I have to hand down the punishment for the damage to the Rec Room and military property,” he said quietly as Nov stood silent. He’d barely said six words that weren’t related to intervening with Maridus and Victus’ fight. “I’m going to go with Administrative Punishment, Captain,” he continued. “The damage cost is 32,481 credits that will come out of your pay for as long as it takes to pay off and you’ll be restricted to your quarters when you’re not on duty,” he finished maintaining a professional and slightly gentle tone and Nov remained silent. “Dismissed.” As he said that he found that he wanted to ask the question. Why? Nov had turned to leave but Cerrus spoke up. “Cal, just one question.” Nov paused and turned around to face him. “Why did you do that?”

Nov’s entire body had felt numb since redecorating the Rec Room, it hadn’t changed. His personality had numbed as well. There was only one answer to his question and he didn’t care who knew now. “I loved her,” he answered quietly.

Cerrus could understand losing control because of the death of a loved one. He who got his whole team killed because of Anara’s death. He believed Nov when he said it, it was plain and truthful that was abundantly clear. “Sentence will begin tomorrow morning, go to the Citadel…take some time, but I want you back at 0700 to report for duty…you miss it I’ll throw your ass in the brig. Am I clear?”

Nov already respected Cerrus, he may not have agreed with his views on Humans but he was an upstanding guy when it came right down to it. He was smart enough to realize when someone was on the verge of going over the edge. “Yes, Sir,” he said respectfully and left the War Room.

**

Chora’s Den survived the attack but C-Sec took the opportunity to clean house, the investigation into Fist and his goons shed some uncomfortable light on the seedy goings on. 

Nov surveyed the area; the military side of him assessed the Krogan bouncers, he really wanted to pick a fight but a Krogan wasn’t really what he wanted to dance with. He wanted a drink and he wanted to pick a fight but he’d settle for a drink first. 

The Asari bartender was pretty, the violet purple was the tone Nov liked the most but this time he wasn’t really interested. “What’ll it be, handsome?” she flirted and Nov blushed.   
“Bottle of something…” he answered with a slight smile. “I don’t care what it is and open a tab.”

Nov was a magnet to the Asari just as they were a magnet for him. She flashed a flirty smile to him and leaned toward him. “What’s the name? Or should I just call you ‘Handsome’?”   
He blushed and cleared his throat. “Cal’s fine.”

“Mel,” she replied and Nov spotted a curious sight over her should across the bar. Nov’s expression narrowed. Victus. Victus was in Chora’s Den sitting at a table alone…that was something you didn’t see every day.

He put his credit chit on the bar and then a few more. “For you,” he winked back then gestured to Victus behind her. “And a bottle of whatever he’s having.”

Mel giggled and nodded with a smile. “You got it, Handsome.”

Nov wasn’t in the mood for a woman at the moment, his emotions were too out of whack but the flattery was nice. He collected the bottle of Brandy, that was apparently what Victus was drinking and quietly joined his fellow Turian. Victus said nothing at his presence and still nothing even when he sat down across from him, only eye contact was made when Nov set the Brandy bottle down for him. 

Victus gave a slight nod, a silent appreciation for his subordinate that had been competition for him despite Sidda’s words. He knew Nov was attracted to her; he hurt him on purpose when he found out but so far the Captain had conducted himself respectfully. As with everyone else on board, Victus had heard about Nov’s tantrum in the Rec Room but didn’t deal with it, he relieved himself of command before so whatever was to happen fell to Maridus but he was sure that his XO hadn’t dealt with it before landing in Medical so the buck was passed to Cerrus. His ship was in chaos and it was his fault, he was supposed to be the rock in the center of the storm not the storm itself. 

Victus was toying with something in his right hand, a shiny piece of metal; Nov had seen it before but around Sidda’s neck. “Sidda gave me this,” Victus spoke after a long silence between them. “Human’s call them Dog Tags…military identification.”

Nov just listened and downed his entire glass in a one shot before pouring another, he wanted to be drunk yesterday and then he wanted a fight. He assumed that Sidda had given him one since one day there was just one tag around her neck rather than two. He cursed himself, and would every day for the rest of his life, for not speaking up and making his feelings known. He drank more and downed another glass. 

Victus noticed his rate, knowing that Nov cared deeply for her didn’t faze him in the slightest but he didn’t want to see a good officer’s name tarnished by some drunken brawl gone bad. “Pace yourself, Captain.”

Nov actually glared. “Why? I’m already confined to the ship after this,” he snarled and Victus’ expression didn’t change. 

“I won’t be bailing you out of the Brig,” he replied and Nov’s mood was souring rapidly, the good bottle of Turian Whiskey wasn’t helping as his temper was starting to surface. He wanted to fight…fighting the General wasn’t necessarily wise but it would help settling things between them…or it could actually make it worse. 

“I don’t care,” he growled back but again Victus didn’t show any concern for the clear challenge that was coming his way. 

Victus had already had enough of fighting and if he took it out on Nov it wouldn’t be as one sided as it was with Maridus, Nov was an exceptional fighter who was going through his own emotional issues. A fight with him could be serious and brutal. “I’m not your CO right now, Nov; you want to pick a fight do what you like.”

“Sir,” a voice greeted breaking them from something that might have turned into a mess. It was Garrus, still angry with Victus for hurting his friend but he looked as if he needed a drink as well. Unlike them, Garrus actually saw the event that killed her. “Captain. Mind if I join?”

Nov downed another drink, three in two minutes…not a good sign and Victus gestured to the seat. He slid the Brandy bottle toward him. 

“A drink for the Commander,” Garrus said and Victus paused as Nov poured another drink. “She was the best person I’ve ever served with.”

Nov paused before downing another glass, he felt the sentiment, but for him Sidda was the best person he’d met in his entire life. “And you let her die?” he snapped earning a glare from Victus and Garrus. 

“Nov,” Victus warned, there was nothing Garrus could have done and Nov knew that. The Turian looked to physically recoil, he was angry and well on his way to getting drunk. He didn’t apologize and downed the next glass. 

Garrus fought the urge to beat the hell out of him but was able to keep himself in control. He resented Nov’s comment and it pissed him off. “He’s drunk and looking for a fight,” Garrus commented but his growl and leveled glare was enough to express his anger. “Keep talking and I’ll give him one.”

The glares that were leveled at one another were enough to end wars, or start them. “Really?” Nov smirked but his attitude wasn’t playful. “Then why wait, Vakarian?”

Victus was annoyed; his quiet drink had been hijacked and now was something else. Nov was a temperamental drunk and at the moment he wanted to fight…to be honest so did he. “Callus,” Victus barked, “you don’t cool it you’re gonna end up with a fight you don’t want. Clear?”

Nov picked up on the threat loud and clear; he meant him but with as upset as he was Nov would get what he wanted…a fight for the ages. 

**

A week had passed as the Lante was still at the Citadel, Cerrus had done as Victus asked and filed a report to the High Command, they were to report home as soon as was convenient. Victus had faced down everything, he was a seasoned combat veteran but he was absolutely terrified about walking into this room. Maridus was lying on the bed, peaceful, seemingly anyway. His left mandible was a shiny silver which contrasted sharply with his dark skin color and a good portion of his face was still obviously was swollen. He did that, his own hands nearly killed his best friend. The shame Victus felt was overwhelming in all his years he never remembered losing control like that. 

Maridus sensed a presence in his room and opened his eyes. “Sir,” he managed softly, after four surgeries talking was still a little rough, his jaw hurt…actually everything hurt. 

Victus gulped, he could never begin to apologize for his actions. “I’m sorry could never cover it, Damar,” he said and the honesty in his voice was undeniable. 

By all rights Maridus should hate him, but he didn’t. “Don’t.” Maridus began and it was then Victus noticed the plate on his jaw, the other area he broke. The same on his face was apparent. “It’s okay.”

“Don’t say that,” Victus breathed, he couldn’t be forgiven for this. “There is no way that this is okay.”

Maridus managed to sit up and his face throbbed. “Adrien…” he began surprising the General by using his first name. “I understand. I wouldn’t volunteer for it every week but I understand.”

There was no way Victus was going to let himself off the hook. “You cannot forgive me for this, Damar, look what I did to you.”

Maridus groaned at a throb that went from one side of his head to another but it passed. “Sir, if it was Solana I probably would have killed myself,” Maridus told him. “And if you pushed me the way I pushed you I probably would have done the same thing.”

Victus was having a hard time facing his own actions, he owned them there was no question there, but what he couldn’t figure out was why Maridus still spoke to him. He turned away from Maridus and began to pace. “Command knows what happened…they’ve recalled me to assess my fitness. I’m not going to tell you what to do but think long and hard before you forgive me for what I did.”

Maridus gave him a slight nod; he wasn’t getting out of this hospital for at least another few days, odds were that the Lante would make it back to Palaven before he did. 

**

The review was going to be uncomfortable; Victus went into it knowing that. It wasn’t the first time he’d gone through one of these but this time it was for a personal issue while on duty. Victus had never let something personal effect his job but it was clear he’d lost control. Lost control and nearly killed his first officer doing so. 

Fedorian was on the panel, given Victus history with him it might have been seen as a conflict of interest but the thing about Turians was that they could be objective. Victus was a fine officer and Fedorian knew that. Admiral Irix Coronati and General Radha Maridus comprised the rest of the panel; Coronati was a good man, the Admiral of the fleets and someone Victus had known for a long time. Victus’ problem was going to be Radha Maridus, Damar’s mother, although given what had happened she should recuse herself. 

“General, you are here to answer for the assault on one of your crewmembers that resulted in the severe injury of your first officer,” Coronati said, it sounded as if it was for the record. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Nothing, Admiral, I don’t deny what I did,” he answered. 

“You disfigured my son, General, that’s all you have to say?” Radha hissed. Unlike Maridus she had a forest green inverted chevron on her face blemished by a vertical scar that started over her left eye and continued under it for an inch. She was a severe woman but damn good at her job. He didn’t blame her for being angry, he was glad she was on the panel and not his father Merek. Merek really didn’t like him and he wasn’t looking forward to meeting that big Turian again. 

Victus didn’t know how to respond to that, owning up to what happened and taking the punishment for it was as far as he got with it. “I know, General, and there is no apology I can say that would make that right.”

Radha was trying her best to remain professional in front of him but Damar was her only child, her motherly instinct was hard to turn off. “No, there’s not,” she snapped. “You nearly killed him.”

“Let’s try to remain on point, please,” Fedorian spoke up and the conversation returned to its subject. “Despite the clear misconduct on your part no charges will be filed against you at this time, General.”

Victus was shocked, it definitely not the outcome he was expecting. “Sir?”

“Your first officer is commendably loyal, General,” Fedorian said in a tone that wasn’t quite a complement, “in his statement he gave you glowing praise, despite it all. I applaud you on your ability to inspire loyalty in your men.” Victus wasn’t sure how he felt about this, he didn’t need to be forgiven for this, and he’d told Maridus that. “While no charges will be filed against you your conduct is unacceptable for someone of your rank. A permanent mark will go in your file.” 

**

The Lante was given time off to refit and rotate crews, nearly 6 months had passed and the Turian ship had been assigned to training missions. They had seen more special operatives from the academy come through for reassignments and training. With Cerrus thrust into the role of interim first officer Kalvaris was took over Centar for training and recruiting. Nov had changed, after six months he still hadn’t come to grips with the loss of Sidda, he was darker and less social. Cerrus was actually worried about him and so was Ruvvak. 

Nov spun the two fighting sticks in his hands warming up his wrists. This had become an exercise he’d grown fond of since he had a hard time finding someone to spar with.   
Sometimes he didn’t know when to stop, the dark violence took over in him and he just couldn’t monitor himself. 

He spun them in unison and attacked the padded pole with a vengeance. At 3:30 in the morning the rest of the ship was sleeping but not him…he didn’t sleep anymore. Not well anyway, what good nights he could get were few and far between. The dreams were about Sidda and almost none of them were good. She was either dying in some horrific fashion on the Normandy or he had his dream woman loving and caring, either way they hurt. He had been such a fool to let her go and not say anything or even so anything more than just a passing crush. He lost her and she wasn’t even his. He’d regret his lack of action for the rest of his life. 

For now he turned to the drink when he was off duty and took his aggression out on those he trained and training dummies. When they actually had a mission he was a monster and completely vicious, he just didn’t care anymore. The noise of his attack carried through the room and could be heard in the corridor, the racket grew louder as he channeled as much of his anger as he could. He spun and put all his force and momentum in the right stick hitting the post hard enough with the blunt instrument to rip the padding open. He roared and flung both weapons to either side letting them clatter against the wall.

Cerrus’ eyes narrowed at the display of aggression shown by the engineer. He was actually worried about him; Nov’s major change in behavior was alarming. Nov had always had a personality that was full of optimism and humor…it had all but vanished. “You should try sleeping, Callus,” Cerrus stated and Nov simply placed both hands on his hips catching his breath. 

“I don’t sleep anymore,” he replied and Cerrus eyed him.

Cerrus grunted. “Yeah, we’ve noticed,” he said and Nov shot him a look. “What’s going on with you, Cal?”

“Nothing,” he replied sharply as he collected the items he’d carelessly thrown across the room.

Cerrus sighed heavily; it was like looking into a mirror. “You don’t sleep, you barely eat, your attitude sucks, you drink to excess…even the General has noticed that…it doesn’t seem like nothing,” he pressed and Nov huffed. “Try again.”

“I’m fine,” he snapped with a growl. “Just-…” he trailed off and Cerrus could guess the problem. “I miss her, Tyr,” he admitted. “Every time I close my eyes she’s all I see…so I prefer to stay awake.”

Cerrus could understand that. “I know how you feel.” Nov glowered ready for snarl but then realized that Cerrus probably did know how he felt. “Cal, listen, you have to let her go.” He wasn’t fazed by the glare from Nov. “Don’t give me that look. I’ve been you…you’re turning into me and you don’t want that.”

Nov’s brow furrowed. “Excuse me?”

Cerrus sighed and really didn’t want to get into this. “Cal, I finally have someone I truly care about…first time in years but do you want to know who I see every time I close my eyes? The person I dream about seven years later? I still see Anara’s face every time I close my eyes.”

“Do you have a point?”

“Point is…you don’t want to turn into me, Cal, and if you don’t let her go that’s exactly what’s going to happen,” he said with a sigh, he really did feel for him. He understood on a level that most didn’t, he knew what it was like to lose someone you love. “I know you loved her. But you have to let her go or it’s gonna destroy you just like Anara’s death did to me.”

Nov felt the lump in his throat, Cerrus had a point, but he just couldn’t do it. Victus was quiet and didn’t talk about it; it was his way of deal with her death. “Victus may have, Tyr, but I can’t.”

Cerrus growled in annoyance, he was exactly like he was. “He hasn’t, Cal,” he warned, scolding him for thinking that Victus was ‘over’ the death of someone he loved. “Look, you need to let her go and you need to get your head back into work.”

Nov’s jaw set, Cerrus was his friend but he was the blunt type of friend. He tried to be sincere about it all but he only took so much of the stubbornness. “I can’t, Tyr,” he said and cleared his throat. “I just can’t.” 

Cerrus sighed as Nov left him alone in the training room, Nov was going to be a serious problem if he didn’t get his head on straight. One reckless person on the ship was enough and he’d been on both side of it. He’d been hoping that Nov would come around on his own but it still hadn’t happened, as much as he said that he understood what Nov was going through he definitely knew that there was a way to live with it. He wasn’t the poster child of letting someone go but he’d learned to function with the pain of daily life and if he could do that Nov could too. 

**

Cerrus was annoyed; with Maridus still out on medical leave Victus had appointed him as his second in command. It irritated him and Ruvio; Ruvio knew more about the interworking’s of the Lante and Maridus’ job than he did but Victus still appointed him as his temporary second in command. 

“How in the hell did Maridus do this job?” Cerrus grumbled in an irritated and exasperated tone. He tossed the pad down on Victus’ desk and heard the General snort. 

“He complained about it,” he commented. “He did it well…but he still complained about it. How’s the departure?”

“On track, if the mountain of messages I get inundated with every day is anything to go by,” he replied and got another chuckle from Victus. “Maridus’ job sucks.”

Victus had heard this from Maridus for years. “Don’t want your own ship one day?”

“No…no, Sir,” he replied and sighed. “Keep me on the ground, Maridus can keep his job.”

Victus was actually proud of Cerrus, he did surprisingly well on the Normandy and had stepped into Maridus shoes against his will. Despite his bitching he’d done well. “You’ve done well, Captain.”

Cerrus didn’t want the praise, he didn’t want a ship of his own, and he didn’t want to take Maridus’ place either. No one could replace that man, he may have complained about his job sometimes but he did it well. Cerrus was not Victus’ protégé, Maridus was. “Thank you, Sir, but once Maridus returns he can have it back.”

Victus hadn’t heard from Maridus, he was still on leave and apparently undergoing cosmetic surgeries and other therapy to help his jaw and mandible. Maridus didn’t file any charges but had also not asked for a transfer so Victus wasn’t sure which way his protégé was going to go. 

“Sir,” he began, he didn’t want to do this but his concern couldn’t be ignored. “I think we need to talk about Nov,” he finished and the General grunted. “He’s not doing well.”

Victus bristled, Nov and Sidda’s relationship annoyed him then and it annoyed him now. He’d noticed Nov’s behavior; the obvious spiral he was going through was hard to miss. “And?”

Cerrus suddenly felt uncomfortable, he’d warned Nov a hundred times to back off and now even with her dead, it was a problem between them. “And the crew has noticed…the strike teams have noticed even the ones coming on for training have noticed, and I think it’s extraordinarily bad to have him in the field.”

Victus was silent as Cerrus voiced his concern. Despite his feelings toward Nov he really didn’t want to see someone hurt because someone’s head wasn’t in the game. Nov was one of his best officers and, hands down, the best combat engineer he’d ever seen. “Fine,” he nodded. “Put him on leave before we depart, we’ll meet up with the task force and do the mission without him.”

Cerrus nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

**

Cerrus’ irritation was getting worse; he wasn’t looking forward to telling Nov he was being forced on leave. “Where’s Nov?” he asked Kalvaris with a grumble. 

Kalvaris’ brow furrowed at the tone and Cerrus’ obvious irritation. “Umm…not a clue…something wrong, Sir?”

“I have to force him on leave…wanna come?” he replied. 

Kalvaris stood and snorted. “Finally,” he said and Cerrus gave him a look that was a mix between annoyance and relief. “What?”

“I don’t want to do this,” Cerrus sighed as Kalvaris snorted. 

“I know you understand but he’s gonna get someone killed.” The barefaced Turian responded clapping him on the back. Cerrus didn’t reply and kept moving, Nov was probably in one of his haunts and since he wasn’t in the Rec Room, where he’d found Kalvaris, or the training room, he was probably in the armory. 

“Cal,” Cerrus began as he found the troubled man tending to his armor. 

“Sir,” Nov acknowledged. 

Cerrus was conflicted, on one hand he wanted to help Nov move past this, on the other he knew that a personal blow like this couldn’t be helped and he didn’t want to see Nov’s record tarnished like his was because of personal issue. “Cal, I need you to stow your gear when we get to the Citadel, you’re on leave,” Cerrus told him, in the moment he decided how to do his and quick and painless was it. 

Nov’s reaction was predictable and immediate. “What? I didn’t put in for any leave.”

Cerrus held firm. “General’s orders, you’re not going on this mission, you’re on leave.”

Nov was getting angry and the other two could see it. In his defense Cerrus would be pissed about this too so he expected it…which was also why Kalvaris tagged along. “Why?”

“Are you kidding?” Kalvaris snorted and Cerrus shot a glare at him. “You’ve been a world class ass lately.”

Nov leveled a fierce glare at him as did Cerrus, that wasn’t going to help. “Rik,” Cerrus warned and the younger Turian fell silent. He was right, but starting a fight with the short tempered engineer wasn’t going to help anything at this point.

“Fuck you, Kalvaris,” Nov hissed. 

Cerrus grumbled at the rising tempers. “Alright, alright, alright,” Cerrus headed it off holding his hands out as if to keep them separate. “Cal, General’s orders you’re on leave.”

Nov’s attention shifted to Cerrus, his friend, and his question still remained. “Why?” he could venture a guess but he still wanted to hear it. 

Cerrus was honest, almost to a fault, Nov was his friend and he had so few of them. “You need to get out of here, take some time, and sort things out,” Cerrus answered as Nov continued to protest. He couldn’t blame him, he did the same thing when they benched him…made him work a desk until Victus picked him up.

Nov was getting madder and madder as time went on and it was such a deviation from his character that even he was noticing the change. Denial, that’s was Holum called it. “How many times do I need to tell you people that I’m fine?” he snarled. 

“You are not ‘fine’, Captain,” Cerrus snapped back raising his voice slightly showing that he was in no mood to coddle anyone, the order had been given. “Don’t do what I did,” he told him, his tone as sincere as he could make it. He should never have gone on that mission, had he taken the time off his squad would still be alive. “Take the time. This is a direct order from the General. You’re getting off when we get to the Citadel.”

Nov wanted to protest but the core of the Turian military had been beaten into since he was 15, the superior gave the direct order and so he would follow it. 

**

The Citadel was still being guarded by the Fifth Fleet as the defense force built up the ships that were lost. Most people bristled to the idea of a human fleet guarding Citadel six months after the attack but the station had been secure for that entire time. Clean up was still on going and security was insane.

“Capt. Cerrus, front and center,” Victus said and Cerrus glanced around quickly, confused and a little worried but he stepped forward. 

“Sir?”

“Captain, you’ve done an admirable lately. You did exceptionally well on a mission that you really shouldn’t have and you’ve filled the role of first officer with minimal complaint,” he said and the room chuckled at Victus’ very true but light hearted joke. “Si…Cmdr. Shepard praised your performance and was very grateful for your help tracking Saren.”

Cerrus did as he promised and watched over Sidda while he was on the ship. He wasn’t happy about the assignment but he did it well and Sidda survived it. He regretted that she was dead; as much as she annoyed him she was a good soldier. With all those thoughts and complements being said he still wasn’t sure why he was on display. “Just doing my duty, Sir.”

Victus had more to list off and that was just within the past year. He planned Nihlus’ rescue, went with Sidda, chased Saren across the galaxy, and kept his ship together when he lost his mind. “Above and beyond…Major,” he said sincerely and Cerrus blinked…stunned. 

“Sir?” he questioned since he couldn’t think of anything else to say, he’d been stuck at the rank of captain for so long he couldn’t remember. 

“You earned it, Tyr,” Victus said presenting him with the new rank insignia, “congratulations.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

“Attention!” Victus called and the entire line snapped to. “Recognize Major Tyr Cerrus, third in command of the PFS Lante.”

“Maj. Cerrus!” The line barked in unison.

**

Nov was irritated with being booted from the ship for this joint operation. Part of him understood the reasoning but that didn’t mean he liked it. He was thrilled that Cerrus was promoted and now he was wandering the Citadel. 

“Cal?” a voice called and he turned to track it. 

Nov blinked, it was Maridus, up and on his feet. “Damar…” he began, “Spirits, look at you.”

Maridus seemed the same except the left side of his face, the mandible on that side was completely synthetic and shiny silver. He had metal implants in his jaw, upper and lower, from where it was broken and three fake teeth. The fake mandible contrasted against his dark skin and half his colony paint was missing. “Up and moving around. What are you doing here?”

“General forced me on leave,” he replied grumpily.

Maridus cocked his head; he didn’t need to be a genius to figure that out. “Sidda?” Nov glared at him. “Come on, Cal, you don’t think the ship’s that stupid do you? You destroyed the Rec Room the day you learned she died.” His glare remained but he sighed heavily and then grumbled. “Are you okay?”

Nov answer was simple. “No,” he answered plainly.

Maridus patted his shoulder. “Hang in there. Take some time off enjoy the freedom…I would have but I was in and out of hospitals for six months,” he joked and Nov couldn’t help but chuckle. 

“So how are you doing?”

Maridus wasn’t going to lie, he had his reservations. Things hadn’t been easy for him, the pain, the surgeries, the pins and implants…it was all rough. “We’ll see,” he answered quietly. He didn’t blame Victus no matter how much his parents and wife thought he should. His mother and father though that Victus should be removed from his post for what he did but Maridus said no. “I don’t think I’m gonna be fighting any time in the future.” Nov couldn’t blame him and his problems suddenly felt a little smaller, Maridus had to walk back onto that ship and face Victus, he didn’t know who was going to have it harder…Maridus or Victus. “So where are you going to go?”

Nov shrugged. “I don’t know…I’ll think of something,” he replied quietly and extended his hand to Maridus. “Take it easy…see you all when you get back.”

Maridus nodded and shook his friend’s hand, he felt bad for Nov, he really did love Sidda but never gathered enough courage to say anything.

The CIC was buzzing as the ship got ready to shove off and continue its duties. Victus hadn’t heard from Maridus since after his hearing. He wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t want to serve under him anymore so he gave him the option. If he didn’t show up then he would have his answer and Cerrus would remain in the role of his second in command, he may have been anti-human and a hothead but he was a damn good officer. Victus had spent nearly a decade training Maridus to one day take his place and didn’t relish the idea of doing that all over again. 

“Sir, final preparations are underway,” Ruvio reported. 

He looked at her and nodded. She would be his first choice as a second in command so, if he had to, training her would be easier than training Cerrus but despite Cerrus’ reservations he did fill the role nicely. “Very well, Lieutenant.”

The lift came to a halt and opened revealing Maridus in uniform. “General,” he said and stepped off the lift making him turn to look. “Permission to come aboard, Sir,” he asked with a salute.

Victus didn’t return his salute instead he took a few steps toward him and extended his hand to him. Maridus dropped his hand and shook his. “Granted,” he replied as he felt a wave of relief hit him all at once. Immediately he felt better than he had in months. “Take your station, Major.”

Maridus gave him a small nod. “Yes, Sir.” It never entered Maridus’ mind to serve anywhere else, he loved this ship and in spite of it all he had complete respect for Victus. This was his ship and he was happy to serve on it.


	35. Dear Diary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And we have reached the beginning of Part 3. 
> 
> Part Three: Resurrection  
> Chapters 35- in progress

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Part Three: Resurrection  
Chapter Thirty Five: Dear Diary

 _“Dear Diary, so…I’ve been dead for two years…yeah…no…Joker was wrong, it doesn’t make it better saying it out loud. How’s that for having bad luck? I remember the attack on the Normandy but not much else after that. Judging by the description of what happened I’m glad I don’t remember it, I mean, I doubt I would have enjoyed the memory of planet fall.”_ Sidda stopped the dictation and sighed, she stood in the middle of her quarters…apparently known as the loft to the crew who built it. A Cerberus crew…Sidda groaned at the thought. How could she be working with Cerberus now? That was just one of seven thousand questions she had. _“And then there’s the ship…I mean the SR1 was nice but I gotta hand it to Cerberus…they know how to build a ship.”_

The loft was far bigger than her quarters on the SR1; she even had a fish tank that was fully stocked with bright and colorful fish from several different worlds. She gave it a half smile and sighed heavily wandering over to the bathroom, her hair was the biggest thing to get used to. It hadn’t been this short since boot camp; she didn’t like the chin length bob since there wasn’t enough to pull into a pony tail. She wasn’t looking forward to trying to figure out how to put that into a helmet. _“And that’s gonna take some time getting used to.”_ She loved her hair long, sure it was a pain to braid and bun every morning but that had become routine over the years. She could do an inverted braid in the dark in under a minute now.

Her shrapnel scars from Elysium were missing and so were the scars from her surgeries on the Citadel. An unmarked body was new, she hadn’t had that since Elysium when that grenade went off and sent pieces of stone and metal into her face. Sidda didn’t feel like herself, she felt odd…almost fake.

 _“This feels strange,”_ she went on before tearing herself away from the reflection and taking in her new quarters, _“not the new and improved version of me, although as seamless as I’ve been told it was, I still feel like the Bionic Woman. No…I mean the diary or journal entries. I didn’t used to keep a diary but then again the Normandy didn’t used to have a yeoman/counselor telling me I need to ‘talk about it’. Chambers is okay, kind of, way too naïve but I guess that’s a running theme for Cerberus. Guess it’s not so bad though I’m pretty sure by the time I’m done with this I might just sound like a babbling idiot…should be fun to listen to at my court-martial when the Alliance gets their hands on me.”_ She paused again and thought about that last comment. _“Can you court-martial a dead person?”_

 _“Technically, you never left the military, Commander, so I believe the answer is: yes,”_ EDI chimed in and Sidda’s brow furrowed at the ‘helpful’ AI.

“Thank you, EDI, please stop listening in,” she replied. The AI was useful but it was disconcerting to know that she was constantly being watched.

 _“Of course, Commander, Dr. Chakwas wishes to see you in the Medical Bay.”_ The AI replied and Sidda sighed. Chakwas had sent her three messages to come down for a thorough check-up. Sidda was ignoring it. She ended the dictation and headed out.

**

She saw Chakwas, which was a surprise, and saw the scans of her ‘new body’. It was disconcerting to realize that she had so much synthetic bone, muscle, and skin. It was equally disconcerting to see all the new cybernetics and biometrics that now were littered throughout her body. Chakwas and Joker joining Cerberus was even worse than realizing that she was a rebuilt model. Cerberus was a terrorist organization and now she was working with them, along with Chakwas and Joker.

“Have you tried using your biotics?” Chakwas asked and Sidda shook her head. “Be careful, it’s an improved implant so it might not be what you are used to.”

Sidda had been told that by Miranda, the architect of her new model. She was a little nervous about using her biotics again; she’d gone most of her life with the L3 implant and now she had an L5x. It was just one of the thousand things that was different. “Yeah, that’s what Miranda said.”

“She’s right, you should be careful. Ideally you should test first before combat.”

“What makes you think I’ll be in combat?”

Chakwas’ sideways look was amusing, no one would expect anything less for the woman who found combat around every corner. On leave, training, on a milk run…it didn’t matter, trouble always found her. “What makes you think you won’t, Commander?”

Sidda chuckled in response. “Change of pace.”

**

_“Chakwas and Joker, there’s two people I never thought would come over to the dark side and work for a terrorist organization. Joker says they grounded what was left of the Normandy crew after my and the SR1’s untimely demise. Clearly the Alliance was still a little miffed about the theft of their prototype. Joker I would believe before Chakwas, Chakwas…that came out of left field. Still good to see people that I trust but something doesn’t feel right. If Hackett or Anderson knew about this their heads’ would explode.”_

She flopped down on the bed, her mind went to Victus. What would he do if he saw her alive? Would he sweep her up in his arms or keep his distance with a distrustful look? Knowing Victus she banked on the latter. Cerrus would probably shoot her. Victus wouldn’t go that far but she couldn’t imagine what his state of mind was…the loss of another woman he loved. It probably sent him spiraling.

She shook the thoughts and cleared her throat, she didn’t want to think about it, didn’t want to think of Victus’ reaction if it had been long enough for him get over her. _“Speaking of seeing people I trust, I found one in the oddest of places…little hole in the wall human colony called Freedom’s Progress. Creepy as hell and ghost town save for a band of Quarians trying to save the colony’s only survivor. Veetor…poor bastard. Tali took my reappearing act pretty well all things considered. Wasn’t much time for small talk with the reprogrammed killer Mech trying to kill me and the idiotic combination of Jacob and Miranda trying to snatch the unhinged Quarian and run.”_ She paused in the dictation as she flicked through things she’d missed while dead. A highlight reel Joker called it, one of many he’d given her. Vid’s hadn’t changed but there was a ridiculous series called Blasto, a spoof on her first human Spectre status. She shook her head with a snort of derision and continued. _“At least I know she’s still alive and kicking, if she’s still seeing Cerrus that accounts for the extra level of toughness.”_

Sidda sighed heavily and cast the pad aside, she didn’t know if it was dying or the fact that she was lonely but dictating a diary made her feel better.

**

With everything that was cluttering her mind she couldn’t relax. Honestly, how could she? She’d woken up a week ago and found out that she had been dead for over two years. So much had changed, even the weapons, but that wasn’t the worst part…she still wasn’t sure how she was going to deal with Victus. Joker had told her the after effect of her ‘death’.

Her mind was racing and she couldn’t sit still so she ran, did sit ups, push-ups, pull ups, anything she could do to just take her mind off it all. It really didn’t work; all she could think about was Victus. How was he? Did he still think about her? Thousands of other things went through her mind also and all of centered on him.

 _“Are you distressed, Commander?”_ EDI asked as Sidda entered her quarters. Sidda had focused almost all of her nervous energy and unquiet mind on working out. It didn’t help too much, her mind was still a hot mess train wreck of emotions, questions, and the coming to terms with being dead for two years.

She pulled the sweat soaked shirt off over her head and tossed it in the corner. The best thing about a long hard workout was the shower afterward. “I’m fine EDI,” she replied.

 _“Your biometrics indicate a significant level of stress. Perhaps you should see Dr. Chakwas in the Medical Bay.”_ The AI countered.

“EDI,” Sidda warned as she collected some clean off duty clothes for after the shower. “I said I’m fine and stop scanning me.”

_“Operative Lawson instructed me to take regular scans to ensure there are no ill effects of the Lazarus Project.”_

“Operative Lawson can kiss my ass, EDI, the Lazarus Project worked…I’m here…and I don’t like my privacy invaded so knock it off or I’ll figure out a way to disconnect you.”

_“Very well, Commander.”_

And then there was silence, Sidda took in a long breath and then breathed out an even longer one as she pressed the button to continue her diary. _“The Alliance would shit a brick if they knew that an AI was installed on this ship.”_ She began and allowed a slight smile when EDI did not chime in; the intelligence was waiting, maybe not even listening. _“I think this is one idea The Illusive Man had that was actually a good one…apart from bring me back from the dead. AI’s are illegal in the galaxy but Cerberus likes to thumb their nose at the rule book. Most of the time I have to save them from their stupidity but once in a while the blind squirrel finds a nut. Having a Cyber Warfare and Electronic Countermeasures capable Artificial Intelligence onboard is going to be incredibly dangerous…but at the same time…incredibly useful.”_

 _“I am glad you approve, Commander.”_ EDI chimed in finally.

Sidda ended her dictation and headed for the shower. “Just don’t make me regret it,” she warned. “I’ve had enough encounters with run away, galactic domination, homicidal AIs. I don’t need another in my own house.”

Sleep did not come easy, they were heading to the Citadel much to Miranda’s annoyance but Sidda needed to talk to the Council and find Garrus. She needed the Turian on this mission, someone she trusted. She sure as hell didn’t trust anyone onboard aside from Joker and Chakwas but she’d need more than them to pull this suicide mission off.

**

The Citadel had changed quite a bit but C-Sec was still easy enough to find. Finding her target, however, was a little more difficult…finding one specific Turian on the Citadel wasn’t easy.

Security on the station had increased exponentially, it took forever to get through C-Sec and even then it baulked because to the computer she was very much dead. Once she was over that hurdle she set out to find her target, who was a quite a bit harder to find even in the confines of C-Sec.

Sidda twirled in the chair in front of the desk. The last time she’d come to visit Chellick had been during the pursuit of Saren. He was a good cop, Garrus didn’t mind him. Chellick passed her as he entered, for a cop he wasn’t overly observant with his eyes glued to a couple datapads he kept flipping through. “Can I help you?” he uttered. He was a busy man and his desk reflected that. Stacks of casefiles were neatly organized but there was still quite a few of them.

Sidda nearly smirked this was gonna be too good; she was going to scare the hell out of him if he didn’t stop and look. “Hi, Chellick,” she grinned.

Chellick finally saw her. The Turian squawked…he’d seen a fucking ghost. “Shepard!” Sidda’s cheeky grin remained. Chellick looked comical, like he was ready to climb the wall. “Shit!” he exclaimed shocked to the core. “You’re dead!”

Sidda shrugged, just getting through security told her that the world still thought she was dead. Bailey’s magic button made it all go away in the systems but it was going to be fun scaring the daylights out of everyone else. “That’s the rumor.”

Chellick’s head spun, he couldn’t wrap his head around this. “So you’re not dead?” His mind didn’t even register the question, if he had he wouldn’t have said it but he was too stunned and mid panic to ask a question that made sense.

Sidda’s expression reflected her response to the question. “Chellick…come on, man.”

The Turian blinked. “Right…sorry,” he replied, still unnerved by the dead woman sitting in his office. “So…uhh…what…what’s going on?”

“I’m looking for Garrus,” she began as the cop relaxed enough to sit down, “do you know where he is?”

Chellick shook his head. “He quit last year.”

Garrus always was one step off of quitting the bureaucratic nightmare that was C-Sec so she wasn’t exactly shocked. “Do you know where he went?”

Chellick shook his head. “Not sure. He left and just dropped off the map.”

Her brow furrowed as he fidgeted to expel the nervous energy. “That’s it? He just dropped off the map?” she asked. “You’re Chellick. Garrus told me that you’re the guy in C-Sec that can find anyone.”

Chellick grumbled, he liked Sidda and was sad when she died but whenever she showed up it always spelled trouble. “Look, it is not my day to watch him, Commander; I don’t know where he is. He quit.”

Garrus quitting wasn’t hard to imagine, he was too impatient for C-Sec which is why he loved working with a Spectre. “Quit why?”

“I don’t know. It’s Garrus. He hated being tied up in all the red tape and after yo…you died Garrus had enough. Turned in his resignation and left.”

Sidda harrumphed. “What about his old partner? The one after you…or before you…what was the order?”

“ _That’s_ your question?” he sniped back starting to get frustrated, she cocked her head and Chellick huffed. “Leena. After. She moved to Thessia about 10 months ago.”

Sidda sighed and got to her feet. “If you do find anything out on Garrus please let me know.”

Chellick grunted a response and then looked up at her. He wasn’t holding his breath; he hadn’t heard from Garrus since he quit so he was sure that he wouldn’t now. “Where are you going?”

To the meeting that she wasn’t looking forward to, Anderson had gotten wind that she was alive and asked her to come see him. Sidda wasn’t looking forward to it; she was looking forward to seeing their reactions but not looking forward to the rest of it. “To scare the hell out of the Council.”

Chellick actually laughed, that was going to be a fun meeting. “Oh let me know how that goes…try to leave the Presidium intact this time, two years later we’re still trying to fix your last visit.”

Sidda grinned. “Pleasure as always, Chellick,” she said and paused before she left. “Can I ask a favor?” She came back from the dead, he figured he owed her a favor and gave a single nod. “Can you track down a hierarchy General?”

Chellick sat back and gave her a curious expression. “They’re hard to hide…who do you need?”

“Adrien Victus.”

Chellick agreed and gave her another nod. “I’ll check it out. I’ll send you a message when I find him.” He said and Sidda nodded gratefully. Two years had gone by so she wasn’t sure how to contact Victus, whenever she worked up the courage to do so.

**

Sidda grumbled as she tossed her jacket clear across the room and punched the button on the terminal to continue her dictation. She’d never really kept a diary before; it was just amusing now to get her thoughts out in the open even if no one heard it. _“Dear Diary,”_ she began sarcastically, _“well that was six hours of totally wasted time,”_ she grumbled loudly. _“Garrus has clearly performed the greatest disappearing act in the galaxy since The Illusive Man can’t even find him, Anderson won’t tell me where Kaidan is because “it’s classified”, Udina is still a backstabbing, sleazy, snake, and the Council…the Council still shows that it has more in common with an Ostrich than a group of civilized species. Apparently, all I needed to do was die so they could wash all the stuff about Saren and the Reapers away. Without me to nag in their ears they just stuck their heads in the sand and moved on. Bastards did reinstate me as a Spectre though so long as I keep to the Terminus…terrific…the goddamn Wild West.”_

She shook her head as she found several messages from The Illusive Man. “Illusive Man…what a pretentious name,” she muttered and then tapped her way through the dossiers that he sent her. She’d received the one for Mordin Solus and now two more. One for a Mercenary Veteran named Zaeed Massani, a name she vaguely recognized, who apparently cost a lot of money to hire and another for a mercenary commander responsible for carrying out hits on the Omega gang leaders. On the way back from her Spanish Inquisition with the Council she told Joker to head out to Omega to get the ball rolling on this travelling road show.

The monitor on the desk chimed an incoming call; she couldn’t imagine who would be calling her now.

_“Commander, I tracked down Gen. Victus like you asked, I transmitted the contact information to you. He’s still on the PFS Lante.”_

That did not surprise her in the slightest. Victus had been the commander of that ship for over a decade, she didn’t expect that to change any time soon. She chuckled. “Damn, Chellick, that was fast.”

Chellick scoffed. _“It’s Adrien Victus, Sidda, he’s not that hard to find if you know where to look.”_

Sidda’s brow furrowed and leaned forward on to the desk closer to the monitor. “So let me get this straight, you can find a Turian General who’s usually off on classified missions in five hours but you can’t find one rogue cop after ten months?”

 _“Everyone’s a critic,”_ Chellick replied sounding bored. _“And it was more like two hours…I am a Detective, Commander, I have stuff to do.”_ To be perfectly honest he hadn’t been looking for Garrus…it was not his job to keep tabs on an officer who quit.

“You’ve gotten pretty snarky in the last two years, Chellick, I like it,” she chuckled and Chellick snorted.

 _“Good luck, Commander,”_ He nodded back.

“Thanks, Chellick,” she smiled back and the screen changed. The contact information was attached just as he said they would be. Sidda hesitated before opening it, nothing would make her happier then to talk to Victus but she was almost scared to.

“Here we go…” she began and heaved a great sigh. _“Hello Adrien, it’s..it’s me. You’re not dreaming and it’s not a trick. It wasn’t a lie either; I did die for two years. I don’t even know where to begin with this; I’ve been mulling this around for over a week trying to figure out what to say. Long story short, an organization spent a lot of money and resources to bring me back to life. I’m trying to pick up the pieces and figure this out but I’m not sure how to do this. Now I’m back for another suicidal mission so I’ll probably die at the end of it anyway. Sorry. I swear this isn’t a trick, if you’re okay with it I’d like to see you. You pick the time and place.”_

She stopped the dictation and let out a rough breath. “I wonder how many of them are gonna shoot me if they see me?” she muttered and sighed again. She left the letter alone; somehow she just didn’t know what to say.

**

“I don’t need your help, EDI, now buzz off.” She heard Joker bitch and cracked a half smile. Joker had been the least receptive to the AI, after the run in with Sovereign and the Geth she didn’t really blame him, but Sidda had a different opinion. A VI was helpful but the possibilities were endless when it came to an AI. She was curious to see how it would turn out.

“Having fun with the computer?”

“Funny,” Joker retorted. “Commander, can we shut this thing off?”

Sidda sat down on the railing to the right. “I think it’s gonna be fairly useful.”

Joker laughed. “You blew up the last AI that pissed you off.”

Sidda shrugged and gave a slight chuckle. “And I’ll do the same thing to this one if it turns to the dark side.”

“Way to be proactive,” he commented and then noticed that something was on her mind. “You okay, Commander?”

Sidda sighed heavily. “Trying to compose a letter…ordinarily not a mind blowing task but the gist of this one is ‘hey, I’m back from the dead’, having issues trying to write it.”

Joker didn’t pretend he knew what to say. “Yeah…how you doing with that? The coming back to life thing.”

“Well, it was fun scaring the hell out of Chellick…I’ve only ever heard a Turian squawk once and it gets funnier every time I hear it,” she replied and Joker laughed. “It was a bitch to get through security…in and out.”

“Not to mention all the sideways looks we get running around sporting Cerberus colors.”

Sidda shook her head, she’d sooner strut around naked then wear those clothes. Now she had a black leather jacket, jeans, and straight up civilian attire. “So don’t wear Cerberus colors, do what I did…go buy casual. I’ll die happy if I never put that crap back on.”

Joker grunted and snorted. “You know they’re probably recording all of this.”

“Fuck em if they can’t take a joke,” she chuckled.

Joker laughed. “Good to have you back.”

She gave him a half smile and looked at the navigation panel. “ETA to Omega?”

“Bout an hour.”

She stood and walked off the bridge. “Time to go get ready for the outhouse of the Terminus.”

“Just wipe your feet before you come back.” Joker called after her and she chuckled.

**

Cerberus had some funny ideas about how they set up their ships, rather than it being an efficient one stop shop in the bay with arms and armor they were set up on deck two. Odd. Sidda adjusted her armor with the new pieces she purchased on the Citadel, extra ammo packs strapped to her left thigh for thermal clips, grenades, heat sinks; a Sentry Interface that was leaps and bounds better than her old model, a shield harness, dampening gauntlets, and a thousand other things to modify her armor. On the Illusive Man’s dime she was okay with splurging.

She tugged at the strange fit of the Aegis vest and twisted to break it in. “So, not only have the weapons changed but the armor has too.” She complained.

 _“Commander,”_ Miranda’s voice began.

“And there’s my other irritation,” she muttered. “Yeah?”

 _“Commander, we are approaching Omega.”_ The Cerberus operative informed her over the comm.

Sidda nodded with a heavy sigh. “I’ll be there in a minute,” she replied. _“And there’s my other hell. Cerberus. This ship is crawling with Cerberus, terrorists, racists, ‘humanities sword’…more like a dagger in the back. Most of the kids who keep the ship running are just young idealists, big deal, people like Donnelly and Daniels but then there’s Miranda Lawson and Jacob Taylor,”_ Sidda scoffed in disgust. She couldn’t stand either one of them. _“Jacob Taylor: an Alliance turncoat who can actually turn a blind eye to Cerberus’ ‘checkered past’ and keep a fucking straight face about it. I guess the same can be said for Joker but I at least believe Joker. Jacob struts around like he’s the hot stuff biotic ready to give me the ‘good stuff’. Just chuck him out the airlock and be done with it. Miranda Lawson: The Illusive Man’s Barbie doll. Has the nerve to tell me that she doesn’t trust me…ME…she’s the terrorist I’m just the Lazarus Man. Jacob is all brawn, and very little at that, and no brain but Miranda is the smart one. Fairly certain that I’ll never trust her so I’m waiting for a rug to be yanked out from under me at any moment.”_

 _“Commander,”_ Miranda’s voice cut in again and Sidda ground her teeth.

“Yeah, in a minute, Lawson!” she snapped back leaving silence in the air.

 _“And it appears that I have quite the band to assemble. Starting on Omega…yee- fucking-haw…two years ago that asteroid was a no fly zone so I doubt it’s gotten better with time. A cesspool that is apparently a breeding ground for people I need to save the galaxy. There’s the Salarian scientist who’s supposed to help with the Collector’s ability to subdue a whole colony, the galaxy’s best Mercenary Zaeed Massani, and some lunatic calling himself Archangel.”_ She went on as she did one final check of her new black and yellow armor. It irked her now, Cerberus colors. _“So let’s recap…I’m supposed to save the galaxy with a merc, a lunatic, and a scientist…we are so screwed.”_


	36. Archangel

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Thirty Six: Archangel

Omega was a shithole. The outhouse of the galaxy. Garrus hated it, hated it to its core but he was there to make life better for the innocent people who actually lived there. He couldn’t stand this place, there was no law, no order, Mercs played by their own made up rules and the only result was people getting hurt. People who were just trying to get by. For as long as he spent on Omega this was by far the worst it had ever been. He’d picked a fight with far too many of the wrong people and was now paying dearly for it. 

When he left C-Sec he was met with mixed reviews. Some people expected him to do exactly what he did, march right into Pallin’s office and quit, so when he did that people weren’t exactly shocked. He hated the rules, he obeyed the law but it never sat well with him to let a suspect go that he knew without a doubt was guilty. On the other side, however, people like Chellick were actually surprised to see him quit. Sure he hated the broken justice system but whenever he helped someone who really needed it he was reminded just why he became a cop. 

Omega was the crime capital of the galaxy and he wanted to do something that made a difference, his own way, without the brass breathing down his neck. He took a page out of Sidda’s book and began recruiting…heavily. By the time he was finished he’d acquired quite an eclectic group of ex-military, law enforcement, and various other shady characters. His team was effective and they stirred up the biggest hornet’s nest ever. They squashed small time dealers, protection rackets, gun runners and quickly graduated to the Blue Suns, Blood Pack, and Eclipse. Even bigger drug dealers, protection rackets, and gun runners. They even busted up an underage sex ring run by the Eclipse. Garrus and Sidonis had never been as brutal with their retribution as they were when they strung them up. 

Then it all unraveled, like a single thread pulled on a flimsy scarf, it came apart at the seams and they all paid for it. Now Garrus had been treed in his hideout with only a very exposed bridge as his safety. 

**

A group was making a push, the armor wasn’t bad but they weren’t the three main players gunning for his head. “I fucking hate Omega,” Garrus grumbled loudly as he sighted down the Spectre Sniper Rifle. He was lucky he was proficient at sharpshooting; a lesser man would be dead. “I really fucking hate Omega,” he repeated, only louder. After three well placed shots the group backed off, Archangel was all he was cracked up to be when it came to shooting. He even grounded a gunship with one shot like he was ordering lunch. 

He heard a soft chuckle from Isla as she placed a bottle of water next to him. “Any change?”

Garrus sunk down into cover, taking his helmet off, and popped the top off the water. “Bolder but they’re keeping their distance,” he replied guzzling the water down in nearly one gulp. So far Isla Devereaux was his only ally; she was a Blue Suns Merc that ran the gauntlet of three different mercenary bands to get to him. He met her nearly a year ago when he was pestering the Blue Suns, he came face to face with her in a gun battle but she didn’t shoot him, instead, she let him go. When it came to the Blue Suns she was his inside source. Isla was a Sentinel and a good one. She was from Fhel Prime, working with the Blue Suns to pay off her father’s debt. “Downstairs?”

The black haired Sentinel shrugged as she stayed clear of the windows and sat down on the couch. “Still clear,” she replied she had an accent that Humans called English; it was a beautiful voice to match the beautiful face. “Garrus, I think we need to make a run for it,” she hardly ever called him Garrus, only in private did she do so, every other time it was always Archangel to protect his identity. It was months before she saw him without his helmet on. 

Garrus shook his head. If there was simple way clear he’d have taken it by now. “We’d never make it, there’s too many of them out there.”

“And if we run out of clips up here?”

Garrus chuckled. “That’s the beauty of this gun…no thermal clip,” he said patting his Spectre Sniper Rifle set across his lap. 

“You’re a funny guy,” she replied and noticed how exhausted he looked. He hadn’t slept in days. He’d been up for, at the very least, two days…that’s how long she’d been up here with him. She stayed in cover and sat down on his right. There was silence between them, they were both tired. “We’re going to die here.”

Garrus knew that. He figured that was at the end of this rainbow as soon as he walked in to a massacre of his team. He was quiet as the words just hung in the air. “I know,” he said finally. “I’m sorry for dragging you into this.”

Isla tipped her head back onto the stone with a small smile. “I ran to you remember,” she said and took a deep breath. The simple act felt as relaxing as ever. “Ever since we were at arm’s length pointing guns at each other. “

Garrus got her meaning, why else would she risk all three Merc bands to come and help him. He admitted there was a certain attraction to her but admitting it and starting something would show a weakness for someone to exploit. “You have lousy timing, Dev.” 

She giggled in reply as he looked over at her with a tired expression that mirrored her own. “Well, I figure we’re all about to die so why not.”

Garrus chuckled putting his helmet back on. Anonymity was his best friend, he could still move freely around Omega because he always wore his helmet. “Yeah…let’s see what the kids are up to,” he shifted his tired body around to peer over the wall and expected to see an army down below but there was nothing. He could see movement when he sighted down the scope but nothing in the way yet. “Looks like they’re starting to move…they’re up to something.”

“Tarak and Jentha mentioned something about using freelance mercs to save their own ranks,” Isla explained and Garrus grunted as he settled back into cover. 

“Cannon fodder,” he shortened. “That means there’s a bigger plan ahead.” He couldn’t say he was thrilled about that idea. 

“Mmmhmm,” she muttered.

There was a moment as Isla remained as the spotter and Garrus checked his rifle and made sure there were clips for Isla next to her position. He didn’t need any for his rifle but his pistol was another story, honestly at this point if he had the need to use it he’d already screwed up to the point that it didn’t matter. The situation was drastic; he gave his rifle to Isla so she could use all the clips she needed. 

“Archangel, they’re moving,” she alerted. “Here we go.”

It wasn’t an organized group. The Blue Suns may have been criminal organization now but they had started as private security or even private military. That was the hardest part of fighting them, they still operated that way. Instead of going after vicious thugs and criminals like the Blood Pack or dealers like the Eclipse the Blue Suns still had that military element that was harder to get around. “This must be the Freelancers.” He sighted down the scope as the Vindicator Isla was using sounded off. He fired his first shot at a man in white armor, a round in the head, quick and painless. Then to the next, another human, he ended his life with a round through his right eye…the helmet did nothing to stop his powerfully modified weapon. The shots came quicker now. His precision was still as sharp as ever despite his exhaustion. Garrus had accepted the fact that this might be his last Harrah but he wasn’t going down quietly, he was going to make them work for every last inch. He fell into the rhythm that had been drilled into him since boot camp. Aim. Exhale. Fire. Repeat. He had the timing for this rifle down to a science; he’d modified the cool down for maximum efficiency. 

The next target stopped him cold. He looked away from the scope certain that he’d just seen a ghost. It couldn’t possibly be her. He was so tired now he was seeing things. He looked again down the scope. “Can’t be her,” he thought to himself. Time seemed to stop as he found his target. The black armor with yellow stripes indicating an N7 Biotic specialist, the familiar visor, and the dark hair shorter than he remembered screamed at him. But it was mostly the way she carried herself, the confident moves of a seasoned combat veteran. She carried only a pistol but had an assault rifle on her back, exactly Sidda’s preference in combat. “Sidda,” he breathed in shock. It didn’t make any logical sense, he saw the Normandy explode, knew she had been spaced. They never found her body even after an extensive SAR. But if that wasn’t Sidda down there he would stand up and let the Mercs take all the time they wanted taking him out. Isla’s weapon barked a few more times bringing him back to his senses. 

“Dev, don’t shoot the two humans in black and yellow and the Salarian with them,” he called and looked switched to concussive rounds. ‘Sidda’ was hanging back, or seemed to be. He fired a shot into her shields and she started moving. If that was Sidda she’d bark at him for it later. 

“What are you talking about?” he heard Isla ask. 

“Just trust me. She’s on our side,” he replied and fired another shot into her barriers again. He watched as Sidda and her party actually opened fired on the Mercs in front of them. Garrus smiled behind his helmet, it was her. “We might just survive this after all.”

‘Sidda’s’ team vanished below them and he concentrated on the rest that were coming over the bridge. “Garrus?”

“I’ll be fine. They’re on our side.” 

Isla grumbled, she didn’t take it at face value. Things unraveled when he walked into a trap that was taken on faith when she told him it was a bad idea. She wanted to shift her position to greet the guests but Garrus barked an order for her to stay. She growled and took her aggression out on the mercs down her scope. Clearing out the incoming Mercs was simple enough; they were amateurs and didn’t stand a chance against Garrus’ 15 years of military experience. 

“One left,” Isla muttered. The smart bastard was in cover behind a pillar and Garrus was like a predator ready to pounce. He didn’t reply to her comment but his silent focus told her all she needed to know. Behind her she felt the presence of another and turned. There in the entrance were the three Garrus wouldn’t let her shoot. Two Humans and a Salarian. No one shot but their weapons were trained on each other. Isla looked them up and down and cocked her head at the human man that was on the right, the scarred face and tattoos she knew. “Zaeed?”

The scarred and tattooed mercenary regarded her; they’d met years ago when she was a kid and her father was a trusted member of the Blue Suns. Zaeed started the Blue Suns with Vido, the evidence of the ‘hostile takeover’ visible on his face. “Dev,” he replied simply. “The fuck are you doing up here?”

The woman didn’t care about the answer and sidled to her right. Garm had mentioned that Archangel was a Turian so the lone Blue Suns Merc wasn’t who she was looking for. “Are you Archangel?”

Isla kept her weapon trained on her, she knew Zaeed Massani, and to a point she trusted him. The Salarian was Mordin Solus, an odd place to find him but the woman she couldn’t quite place. Garrus didn’t answer; he was still hunting his prey but did hold up one figure then took his shot. He stood, shifted behind the wall to stay in cover and pulled his helmet off. Isla didn’t like that. Garrus only took his helmet off around people he trusted to keep his Archangel persona alive. 

“Sidda,” he greeted, “welcome back from the dead.”

“Garrus!” she exclaimed and holstered her pistol. Isla figured out her identity, she was Commander Shepard. Garrus knew her, she watched them clasp hands in friendship the way the Turians did. No wonder he told her not to shoot her but to Isla’s knowledge Shepard was dead. “What the hell are you doing here!?” Sidda could never know how glad he was to see her, his friend…she was back. Somehow she was back. He felt a weight lift from his shoulders even though he knew this was far from over. “Never mind, I don’t care…since when did you start calling yourself ‘Archangel’?”

“Sid,” he began sounding as tired as she’d ever heard, “it is a very long story. We’ll swap stories over a drink or two, once we’re out of this, what do you say?”

“Deal,” she nodded, she was able to judge the situation and it was dire, from what she’s heard Garrus had been up here for two days while they were all trying to kill him. She didn’t know he had an ally through, a woman in Blue Suns armor. “Zaeed, Mordin, this is Garrus Vakarian…hands down the best sniper I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Garrus nodded as the quick introductions went on. “Isla Devereaux.”

“Blue Suns?” Sidda inquired.

“She’s cool,” Garrus nodded, he sounded so tired. She looked the dark haired woman up and down, the glow of the Tech Armor told her she was a sentinel. Tech Armor was a new development over the years and looked extremely useful. Some of the Mercs she fought in the Quarantine Zone had it and it was a bitch to get around. 

“I think they figured out the incursion team failed,” Zaeed commented as he peered out of cover to take a look. 

“Let’s see what they’re up to,” Garrus said getting back to business. He wanted to know so much more, how she survived, where she’d been this whole time, and a thousand other things but it could wait. He needed to survive this first. 

“Plan was to send the incursion team over the bridge to try their luck…obviously they were really unlucky…and then attack with their full force. I couldn’t get much more out of them other than that.” Sidda explained as Garrus passed her the sniper rifle. “You still have her,” she smiled and sighted down to look through the scope. 

“Yep,” he grunted. “Take a look. Lots of Mechs, my guess is Eclipse is on deck.”

Sidda got a LOKI Mech in her sights and fired taking its head off in one clean shot. “Batter up.”

“Here we go,” Garrus agreed and took the rifle back. “Spread out.”

“Zaeed. Mordin. Take the back.” Sidda ordered as she readied a rifle Garrus had never seen before, a white weapon with a Cerberus emblem. It started to come together. Cerberus was involved. He put that to the back of his mind, he’d deal with it later. 

“Fuck. A YIMR Mech,” Isla cursed. “Archangel.”

“I see it.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about that,” Sidda said as she felt Isla’s eyes boring in on her. “I gave it a new trick. Save your ammo, use your abilities,” she continued and didn’t look away from the field. Isla didn’t trust her. She was okay with that.

Watching the next few minutes was like watching a comedy show. A sick and twisted comedy show. When the hulking YIMR Mech stood up its friend or foe had been disabled by Mordin and it fired on the troops and Mech’s it was meant to aid. Soft chuckles emanated from the three of them. 

“This is the best thing I’ve seen in days,” Isla muttered causing more of a chuckle from Garrus. 

“It’s the simple things in life you treasure,” Garrus commented. 

When they did start shooting the Mech had to go first, it took a couple minutes to bring it down but when it did it exploded sending shrapnel for meters. The second wave was tougher. Vanguards, Sentinel’s, and Jaroth. Garrus wanted Jaroth, badly; drug dealer, slave trafficker, murderer, just to name a few. Most of the illegal goods on the Citadel came from that bastard. Man he wanted to kill him. His Tech Armor prevented a clean headshot but Isla helped considerably, between Sidda and Isla they brought the shield down and he capped off one shot. One perfect shot. Garrus smiled a sense of satisfaction when the Salarian fell. 

“Oh that felt good,” Garrus muttered. 

“Tell me something, Vakarian, what did you do to piss all these assholes off?” Sidda asked, knowing Garrus he saw an injustice, walked into the middle of it, flipped them the bird and started a fight. She could see that for one band but three? That was excessive even for him. 

“Sid…” Garrus began as he fired again. 

“Yeah, I know…drinks later,” she muttered in reply. An explosion went off somewhere else in the compound, big and it drew Garrus and Isla’s focus. “What the hell was that?”

Isla cursed under her breath, just as things looked like they were turning around. “The tunnels, Garrus.” Garrus also cursed, loudly.

“Garm said they had people tunneling in…didn’t think it’d be so fast,” Sidda grumbled and Garrus cursed again. 

“We can’t fight them on two fronts.” 

“I know that, Dev, thank you,” Garrus snarled back. 

Garrus was tired and frustrated and getting snappy. Sidda pushed away from her position, collected more clips and sighed. “Where’s the basement?” 

“West side under the stairs.”

“Mordin, you stay. Zaeed, with me,” she ordered, Isla was starting to trust her more. Sidda took the initiative but Isla cared for one thing right now; to protect Garrus for as long as she could. 

“Zaeed, my mines are down there,” Isla called, Garrus made a mental note to ask how she knew him. Zaeed Massani was legendary as a warlord, a bounty hunter, and an all-around shady character. 

Zaeed grunted a response as they headed off down the steps, she was Sebastian’s daughter…a good mercenary but gambled too much and it got him killed.

“Blood Pack, multiple Vorcha and Krogan. Vorcha regenerate, headshots best. Krogan, hard to kill, headshots also best, armor penetrating ammo best in both cases,” Mordin said quickly. 

“Strange place to find you, Doctor,” Isla commented. “Thought you’d still be in the Quarantine Zone.”

“Quarantine lifted. Shepard distributed cure to ventilation system. Recruited me for special project,” Mordin replied and Garrus began shooting. The three of them worked well as a team. Isla blew up the flamethrowers and easily took out the wearer and whoever was next to them. Garrus handled the Krogan as quickly as he could. They were hard to bring down and he had the biggest rifle to do it. 

Garrus growled. “Isla, cover the back, Krogan got through.”

She shifted to the back and confronted the Krogan. He was huge, she hated fighting Krogan. If they got close enough…or angry enough…they charged. She tried to stay in cover to avoid the shotgun blasts and fire bursts from Garrus’ modified Vindicator. He came up the steps like she wasn’t even shooting at him. She hit him with a cryo power and then with Overload, that was combination that usually worked well. It staggered him and she fired another burst. Even with the armor piercing modification it was barely a dent. The Krogan crested the steps and she backed up, he charged with a roar and hit her hard enough to knock her off her feet. She hit the tech armor and it exploded with enough force to stagger the mountain of meat a few meters. She got to her feet and put the armor back up. 

“Come on!” she roared. Isla didn’t quit, she survived indentured service to the Blue Suns, survived living on Omega for most of her life. Had been brutalized, beaten, and raped by criminals and mercenaries alike. She could handle one Krogan that refused to die. She hit him with overload again and gave him another burst from the Vindicator. The beast charged through to storm but fell short as she finally succeeded in bringing him down. 

“Effective,” Mordin said simply. “Well done, Isla. More coming up the stairs.” Isla reloaded and waited. 

“Sidda, hurry the hell up. We can’t hold them forever,” Garrus said and quick as a cat Sidda replied.

“Yeah, well tell them that.” She snapped back. “Working on the second.”

“Second? Are you getting old or something?” Garrus replied with a slight smirk on his face that she could see but could hear. 

“Hey, I’m working here, Archangel. Second ones down…leave me alone.”

Garrus left Sidda alone as more Blood Pack came though than they could handle in one sitting. “Isla, heads up, you’ve got company.”

Isla had a penchant for mines, a good proximity mine could do a wonder of good when you were outnumbered and she littered the stairway with them then took cover behind the pillar at the edge. A pack of Varren started up the steps and the proximity mines with off. It sounded like the end of the world. All that was left was smoke and bits of Varren. She ducked fire from a Human merc and stayed behind the pillar. She wasn’t sure how many of the mines went off and her body flared biotics as she produced a throw knocking him off his feet. He disappeared behind a wall and she continued to pick away at the ones that got past Garrus and Mordin. 

Garm appeared from nowhere and the big Krogan spied her then grinned. “Son of a bitch, that’s Garm!” she cried. “He came up from one of the tunnels.”

Garrus’ stomach knotted. Garm wasn’t fun to fight the first time and resulted in the longest fight of his entire life. “Isla, get back here. Shepard, hurry up damnit!” 

Garm was the biggest Krogan Garrus had ever seen, he was a biotic, and regenerated faster than any other Krogan he’d ever seen. He’d gotten into a fight with him once and barely escaped. He was the one he wasn’t looking forward to fighting. Sure he wanted the murdering, gun running, slave trafficking, dealer dead but so far hadn’t figured out how to do that without an army. 

The perfect storm collided at the rear door. The mines that Isla set did practically nothing to Garm and company but they were enough to take out the Varren. “Archangel,” Garm said, “it’s about time.”

“Sidda, hurry up,” Garrus said and shot at him. The fight commenced. Isla, Mordin, and Garrus concentrated on Garm, or as much as they could. The firestorm combined with tech and biotic powers was deafening. Isla took a hit to her armor and it exploded as it was designed to do when it was depleted but she managed to take out Garm’s second in command. She was stunned, her face was bloody, Mordin pulled her to safety but that still left Garm. He didn’t want to fight him up close so he kept his distance as much as he could. 

Garrus had switched to an assault rifle and was throwing all he could at the big Krogan. The next thing he heard was the sound of a rifle he didn’t recognize, it sounded like a cannon. Behind Garm he saw Sidda and as the Krogan stumbled and staggered Garrus made a note to find out just what the hell was that rifle. His attention returned from its momentary deviation and watched her drop a Singularity on him. The mass of dark energy slowed him. Garrus and Mordin opened fire then the room exploded in with blue brilliance and loud bang. Garrus knew that to be a biotic explosion. They all felt the blast and it rattled his teeth. All the same…Garm fell. 

“Sidda…” Garrus began but somehow ‘thank you’ wasn’t enough. “I owe you a whole bunch of drinks.”

Sidda just smiled and nodded to him. “Boy, he was a big one,” She commented looking at the enormous carcass of Garm. 

She didn’t know the half of it. “Are you alright?” he asked moving over to Isla. She was still dazed and her face was bloody. The Krogan punch her so hard her tech armor exploded. He knelt down in front of her and she nodded slowly. 

“I’m alright,” she nodded half-heartedly swatting his hand away. 

“She’ll be fine,” Mordin said. “No permanent damage.”

Zaeed and Sidda were searching bodies for guns, ammo, and anything else of use. “So that’s Eclipse and Blood Pack,” Sidda began as she reloaded her rifle. “Go for the trifecta or make a break for it?”

“Make a break for it,” Isla voted and Garrus agreed. 

“Agreed, we can fight our way clear of them,” Garrus said. “Tarak’s got the toughest group but we can handle him if we work together-…”

A loud heavy machine noise drew his focus. “Gunship!” Zaeed barked. “Fucking move!”

“How many times do I have to take that fucking thing out?” Garrus bitched. 

“They fixed it but not completely…I gave it my best shot,” Sidda replied as Blue Suns poured into the second level on the far side by the bunks. 

Jentha and Isla squared off immediately. Isla never liked Jentha, she always sucked up to Tarek, did his bidding, gave Isla shit jobs even though she was Vido’s little pet. Isla stepped toward her, knocked the weapon away and punched her in the face. She was better than Jentha and didn’t need to use a weapon to kill her. The Blue Suns killed his entire team, tried to kill him, Garrus. Her Garrus. She warned Garrus not to go to that meeting and he barely made it out alive. Jentha fought back, broke her hold and put a little distance between them. She screamed as a jolt of electricity hit her, in a flash her shields were gone and she had barely a second to realize a gun was aimed at her head when Isla pulled the trigger. 

Sidda found that she liked her new power. Reave was an ability that came with her new implant. It was like a high or a rush when she hit someone with it. Their life force padded her own; she tingled, and rode the high taken from the Turian Centurion. He hollered in agony before he dropped. 

“Gunship!” Isla called. “Watch the Gunship!”

They dove into cover again as it fired again. Sidda was down by the couch as the Gunship tried to get a bead on Garrus safely in cover. Sidda pulled the grenade launcher from her back and primed it. She pushed out on her back aimed and fired. She hit the Gunship but didn’t destroy it, just gave it something to think about. “Only you, Garrus,” she barked as she took a quick stock of the situation. “Only fucking you would have a goddamn gunship gunning for your ass!”

Garrus growled. He wasn’t proud of this situation but it was the situation. “How about you kick my ass later, Sid?”

She considered it. It was quiet; they didn’t see anything and no one liked that. “I don’t like this, Garrus, let’s get the hell out of here?”

The gunship dropped into view as soon as Garrus came out of cover. “Archangel!” they heard Tarak’s voice boom from the Gunship. Isla screaming Garrus’ name was drowned out by the main gun of the gunship. Garrus was caught in the open. “This ends now!” Garrus dove for cover but didn’t quite make it. Tarak fired a rocket and the rest of them saw was an explosion where Garrus had been. 

“Garrus!” he was hurt, they could see it. She’d come this far she wasn’t going to lose him now. Two years had passed and she’d lost enough. All this time she’d pestered Chellick to find him and he was where she was heading in the first place. It pissed her off; she was going to turn the Gunship into scrap metal. She readied the grenade launcher and flared blue as she channeled her rage into her biotic. The gunship bucked as a power warp hit it then she pelted it with rapid fire grenades. The menacing machine exploded as she launched all the grenades. 

Isla and Mordin were already to Garrus, blood was everywhere but he gasped a breath. He was alive, at least there was that, but it was a horrific scene. He was badly injured but as badly as he was hurt he was reaching for his rifle and with the one eye that he could open he locked eyes with her. 

“Oh don’t you die on me now, Vakarian, hang in there. I got ya,” she said moving the weapon into his reach. He clutched it tight. 

Garrus was in a fog of pain and confusion. Sidda was there, Isla was there. The pain was unlike anything he’d ever felt and he blacked out. 

**

Sidda trusted Chakwas, she was a great physician and with Mordin there Garrus couldn’t be in better hands. After pacing for hours outside the medical bay she ventured to the comm room to brief Cerberus. The Illusive Man had also sent her two more dossiers, one for a Krogan Warlord and one for a prisoner. A prisoner…what a merry band of misfits. 

She was half listening to Jacob go on and on about Mordin, the mission, trust, the new mercenary they picked up with Archangel. 

“She’s Blue Suns…we can’t trust her,” Those words made it to her ears and she cackled. 

She shook her head, she really didn’t like Jacob. “Funny words coming from you,” she hissed and Jacob cocked his head at her. 

“What is your problem, Commander?”

“You. Miranda. The Illusive Man,” she replied. “You seem to forget that you’re the terrorists. Blue Suns or not, if Garrus trusts her then I trust her. End of story.”

“Commander, we’re not the enemy, you need to trust us,” he told her and Sidda shook her head. 

“No I don’t,” she replied quickly and left the comm room. 

**

Chakwas and Mordin kicked anyone who wasn’t helping out of the Med Bay, Sidda paced in the Rec room for an hour or so before leaving but the Blue Suns merc that tagged along never left. Instead she sat down on the bench and fell asleep. Sidda considered waking her and tell her there were more comfortable places to sleep but she let her be. She looked just as exhausted as Garrus did. 

“Hey, Doc, how is he?” she asked.

“Lucky.” Chakwas said. “Not a direct impact, most of it is relegated to severe burns but he’ll live.”

“Can I see him?”

Chakwas nodded. “He’s been asking for you actually.”

Sidda expected to see Garrus lying down but he was actually up and looking at what was left of his armor. There was a hole in it showing just how close he came to death, the rocket hit him and punched clean through the right side of his armors collar. Sidda’s whistle drew his attention. “Damn, you are one tough bastard.”

Garrus grunted a response. He couldn’t decide if he was tough or just really lucky. “No one will give me a mirror. How bad is it?” he asked and she snorted.

The right side of Garrus’ face was burned and bandaged; all things considered it could have been worse. “Hell, Garrus, you were always ugly…doubt anyone will notice the difference,” she teased with a grin.

Garrus laughed and immediately regretted it, laughing, smiling, or even just talking at all hurt. “Oh. Oh, damn. Don’t make me laugh, my face is barely holding together as it is. I’m more concerned about you, though…Sid, please tell me we’re not working with Cerberus.”

He could never know how badly she wanted to tell him that but it wouldn’t be the truth, far from it in fact. She’d told every one of her recruits so far the truth and Garrus was no different. “So how about that drink? I’ll run the sale pitch by you.” Garrus nodded and followed her toward the exit. “Who’s uhh, who’s your groupie?” Sidda asked as she saw Isla through the window outside stretched out on the bench by the table. 

“Be nice. She’d my friend. I probably would have died a lot sooner without her,” he told her and Sidda giggled, he knew that giggle. That was the same giggle she had when she thought she figured out his ‘love life’. He avoided Isla as he followed Sidda, she needed to sleep and he wasn’t about to disturb her. 

**

One of the best things about his new Normandy was that it came with a fully stocked bar and for a human ship it had dextro drinks too. She poured two glasses of Turian Brandy and sat down with him. “I guess we both have some serious stories to tell.”

“Vigilante sojourn. Returning from the dead. You win, you go first,” Garrus replied taking a careful drink. “Why are we working for Cerberus?”

“They’re the ones who brought me back,” she said taking a sip of the brandy. Honey sweet and packed a punch, she missed it. “The Illusive Man funded a project to resurrect me. Very expensive but it worked. The Collectors are abducting whole human colonies, I visited one; Freedom’s Progress. They’re only after humans and I agree with The Illusive Man that the Reapers have got to be playing a part in this.”

Garrus processed the explanation, he had been on the SAR to find Sidda but even in all the debris and being hounded by pirates they never found her body. “That explains why we never found your body. Question is how Cerberus got a hold of it…you…so fast.”

She took another drink, she was weary and he could see it. “I don’t know, Garrus, I’m almost afraid to ask,” she sighed. “I don’t trust anyone on this ship but Joker, Chakwas, and you…that’s why I need you. I’m being used can feel it. The Collector threat is real but…there’s something else.”

“No one’s getting to you this time, Sid, I promise you that,” he told her and she gave him a smile. She instantly felt better, better than she had since she’d awoken to this strange new world. 

“So there’s my news…your turn.” She said taking another drink. 

“Did you talk to Victus?”

Sidda’s expression narrowed, she’d been avoiding that topic, and she still wasn’t sure what she was going to tell him. The letter was still on her terminal, pending. “I said your turn, Vakarian.”

“Not so fast. Did you talk to Victus?” he asked again.

Sidda downed the rest of the brandy. She needed to pace herself with this stuff but the conversation took a turn and she reached for the bottle. Garrus moved it away and she glared. “What the hell am I gonna tell him?” she grumbled. “ ‘Hey, hi, I’m back from the dead?’” 

Garrus poured her another drink as he nursed his own. “Might be just that simple, yes.” She glared at him. “I told him that you were dead, trust me, he’ll want to know you’re not.”

“Garrus, this mission could kill me, I’m not gonna tell him I’m back from the dead if I could be dead before he gets the damn letter.” Garrus shrugged, she had a point with that but he vividly remembered Victus’ reaction and how upside down that ship turned. Victus needed to know. 

“You still need to tell him.”

He was right she just wasn’t looking forward to the awkward conversation. “Your turn, Archangel. Since when did you start calling yourself that?”

“I didn’t. Some of the locals started calling me that after some of my good deeds.” 

From the Citadel to Omega, that was a hell of a culture shock. “How’d you wind up on Omega? Chellick said you quit.”

Garrus shrugged, she read his body language and noticed that he didn’t want to talk about this. “Omega seemed to be the best place to go for me to do some good. I recruited a good team, military, police, mercenaries we really started to make a difference.”

“How’d you go from making a difference to cornered by three merc bands trying to kill you?” She asked and he drank faster. 

“I screwed up.” He thought but decided to avoid it all together. “I don’t want to talk about that.”

His tone she knew. It was the same one she’d heard when he spoke about Leena and what happened to her. Something terrible must have happened for him to land in a situation that went that far into FUBAR. “So what’s with Blue Suns out there?”

Garrus didn’t mind talking about her; Sidda would sniff it out anyway. “Isla,” he corrected. “Outside my team she was the only ally I had.”

Sidda could see that he liked her. “How’d you meet her?”

“She was guarding a warehouse with stolen guns smuggled out of C-Sec’s inventory.” He said and remembered it fondly. She never saw his face but she made an impression on him. She matched him hand to hand and by the time they were done they were pointing guns at each other. “We got into a fight; whoever trained her trained her well. It ended up in a draw; her pistol pointed at me my rifle pointed at her, neither one of us pulled the trigger. Sometime during the fight we tripped an alarm and she let me go. Covered for me, sent the Blue Suns in the opposite direction.” 

“You made a friend with someone on the other team on a job on their turf? Damn Garrus, you are charming.” 

Garrus chuckled regretting that again, his face throbbed. He took a bigger swig of Brandy. “She’d tip me off about gun deals, drugs, generally shady activity all over Omega. She even pulled me and Butler out of the fire once.”

“How’d she wind up treed with you?”

Another memory he’d never forget, the terrifying sight of her racing across that bridge with her own men shooting at her. His skill had never been more focused; the Blue Suns and the Blood Pack were shooting at her. He took every one of them down to clear her path. Of course he chastised her for it later, stupid suicide run for a lost cause. “Raced across that bridge with everyone shooting at her about a day before you showed up.”

Sidda’s brow arched. “Now that’s a good friend,” she commented. “Turned on her own people in the middle of a siege.”

Garrus grunted an agreement as he finished off his first glass. His mind drifted to what Isla said before Sidda showed up. They both had lousy timing, she waited until they were hours from death and he never said anything despite months of a slow burn. He was glad he didn’t since it probably would have gotten her killed. The attraction was immediate, even in the warehouse when they met, she never saw his face for months then they got trapped in a closet for a few hours while hiding from a spontaneous Blue Suns command meeting. The intel that put them there was crap on all sides but Garrus walked away with a goldmine afterward. That was the first time Isla had seen his face and the attraction was spurred on. 

The door opened and Isla stepped in drawing their attention. “You’re up,” she said to Garrus. “How are you doing?”

Garrus stood slowly with a pained grunt. “I’m alright.”

“Garrus is so stubborn he’s nearly impossible to kill.” Sidda added with a chuckle and winked at Garrus with a smirk. 

Garrus rolled his eyes as she left them to converse in private. Isla’s mouth and nose was a colorful array of red, blue, and purple. “Are you alright?” he asked. He’d asked her that already after Garm was killed but he didn’t like to see her hurt. 

“Yeah,” she blushed at his concerned tone. “I’ve been hit harder. You?”

Garrus doubted that, he saw her get punched in the face so hard her Tech Armor exploded. “My ears are still ringing,” he shrugged. 

Isla didn’t touch the bandages on his face but could see the fresh burns. “Oh that looks like it hurts.”

Garrus wasn’t going to lie, he was big enough to admit that it stung like a bitch even through the medication he’d been given for it. “It does.”

“I’m glad you’re okay. When that rocket hit…it…it scared me to death,” she said and hugged him tightly. 

“I’m sorry I scared you.” 

Sure, their timing could have been better, but they weren’t on Omega anymore. 

Sidda glared at the open letter on the terminal, the cursor blinking expectantly for her to continue. Garrus was right. She hated it when he was right, he wasn’t like some who held it over people when they were right but he was smug about it when it suited him. She leaned against the wall and cursed. Then cursed again. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk to him or see him she just thought about how uncomfortable it was going to be and it scared her. Enough had happened already, news from Earth, her family, having Victus reject her was just going to be the icing on the cake. “Fuck it,” she grumbled. Garrus was right; she owed it to him to tell him that she was alive. All she had to do was not get killed, again, before he read it. She hit send and it beeped: message sent.


	37. Violence and Negotiations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because I love Warden Kuril and I couldn't help myself.

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Thirty Seven: Violence and Negotiations 

Sidda looked over the next dossier in the comm room, ‘The Convict’. She found it strange that a prisoner was on the list of people she needed to recruit. Subject Zero, also known as ‘Jack’. She harrumphed as the rest of her crew showed up, Miranda and Jacob first then Zaeed and Mordin followed by Garrus and Isla. Garrus was the one she trusted the most, Zaeed was a useful wealth of knowledge but she hadn’t figured him out yet. Isla was like Zaeed, she hadn’t figured her out yet. Garrus trusted her. Hell, Garrus had romantic feelings for her. She was taller that Sidda, had black hair, and a slight Asian look to her features. She was very pretty and to be honest she was surprised that Garrus went for a human. 

“Where are we going next?” Jacob asked as Sidda tapped a few things on the console. 

“Prison,” she replied. “A ship called Purgatory.”

“Purgatory?” Isla questioned. “That’s a Blue Suns funded prison ship.”

Sidda cocked her head at their resident Blue Suns expert. “You know it?”

Isla nodded. “Yes. Run by a Turian named Kuril, used to be a cop on Palaven.”

“Cop turned merc…seems to be running theme,” Sidda remarked pointedly toward Garrus. 

“Vigilante.”

“Nuance,” Sidda countered. “Cerberus has negotiated the release of a prisoner called ‘Jack’. The Illusive Man paid a substantial amount for Jack’s release…but, like everything else so far there’s always a catch. One that I haven’t figured out yet.”

“I know it,” Isla said bluntly. “Kuril won’t be satisfied with just the payment. He’ll want something more.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I know him,” she replied. “I know him well.”

Garrus’ eyes narrowed. “How well?”

Isla sighed heavily, knowing Garrus he wasn’t going to like this. “I used to sleep with him.”

The room went silent as Sidda’s brows lifted, that wasn’t exactly where she saw that going. Garrus shifted uncomfortably. Sidda ignored it as Isla did. “What do you know?”

Isla had known Kuril for a few years now, they had a history that Garrus really wasn’t going to like but she didn’t care. “Kuril extorts money from governments to keep and care for the prisoners. If they don’t pay he releases them at an undisclosed time and place back into their care. On the other side of it he also sells prisoners to the highest bidder.”

“So he’s a slaver,” Sidda summed and Isla merely shrugged. 

“For the most part,” she said, Kuril wasn’t the worst the Blue Suns had to offer. “He believes the work he does saves lives and makes them better, bent morals or not. He’ll honor the deal with Cerberus but the moment he sees you, Commander, he’ll want you.”

Sidda’s brow furrowed. “Why me?”

“Why not? You’re Commander Shepard, first human Spectre, Hero of the Citadel, Hero of Elysium, and back from the dead. Batarians would pay an extraordinary amount for you and that’s all he’ll see.” Isla explained and Sidda couldn’t argue with the logic. She was right. She looked at Garrus and then to Zaeed, her ‘Mercs’. 

“So what do you suggest?” Zaeed asked. 

Zaeed was the man who first trained her; she was one of the few who knew his true history with the Blue Suns. That tattoo on his neck wasn’t merely for show, he was the original. He and Vido began the Blue Suns. Next to Garrus, he was the one she trusted completely. “As I said, he’ll honor the deal but I don’t think you should be there. I’ll go.”

Garrus didn’t like that at all. Not just because he had a budding personal relationship with her but that she might be just as sought after as Shepard or even him. She betrayed the Blue Suns. “Why you?”

“Because he trusts me.”

Garrus scoffed loudly. “You turned on the Blue Suns, odds are he knows that.”

“I’m betting he doesn’t,” Isla replied her tone even and calm. Sidda commended her for it. “Even if he does…I can handle Kuril.”

Sidda couldn’t argue with her logic and to be frank she was right. “Pick your team.”

**

Isla sighed as she looked at her Blue Suns armor, it was good armor but it never really had too much meaning for her. Her membership into the Blue Suns wasn’t voluntary; she was forced to be there by Vido Santiago to pay off her father’s major debt that he racked up with the Suns. Her father may have been trusted in the inner circle but to Vido nothing was out of reach. Sebastian died on an op and left a substantial debt to Vido. Now looking at the armor she had a different reaction, it didn’t fit anymore. 

She stepped into it blindly like she’d done a thousand times before; painted like the Blue Suns or not it was still top of the line and modified to be even better. For as long as she’d been a mercenary her armor had never failed her. The only time she’d ever been shot was when she was caught without it. 

“Hey,” Garrus’ voice said jarring her from her thoughts. He wasn’t happy; she didn’t even need to look at him to know that. “Zaeed and Mordin? Any specific reason you don’t want me over there?”

She shifted in the armor settling into it. “Because you’re barely healed and your armor has been through enough.”

“Stop protecting me, Isla, we’re not on Omega anymore,” he warned and stepped closer. “What’s your history with Kuril?”

“I was sent to Purgatory about three or four years ago because Vido wanted a bigger slice of Kuril’s little extortion racket,” she explained as she secured bits of her armor. “Kuril took a shine to me…like most do.”

Garrus stiffened. “Did he-…”

Isla scoffed loudly, she could understand his assumption, as a woman in a criminal merc band the odds of her being assaulted in some way was better than average. “Kuril? Of course not…he’s not a Human or a Batarian.” The tone in her voice told him all he needed to know. “Garrus, please…just trust me.”

Garrus trusted her but he was the protective type. “I just don’t want you hurt anymore.”

Isla blushed and looked down trying to hide her smile. “I know. That’s why I’m taking Zaeed.”

“So you trust him but not me?”

She giggled. “You asked me once who trained me,” she said and Garrus cocked his head. “I’ve known Zaeed Massani since I was 9.”

“Isla, if he knows what you did-…”

She put her right hand on his uninjured cheek. “I’ll be okay, Garrus,” she said and stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. “After all…I finally got you, Archangel; I won’t let Kuril get in the way of that,” she whispered in his ear then left to collect her weapons and meet her team. Garrus had a moment to be frustrated, worried, and in love all at the same time. 

**

Isla’s choices for backup were practical, she trusted Zaeed to watch her back incase Kuril was less friendly than she remembered and Mordin used to be Salarian STG. It made sense to bring him along for their new recruit in cryo but he could handle combat if Kuril was even less friendly then she remembered. The Normandy docked and Isla couldn’t help but feel a little nervous, Garrus wasn’t wrong, if Kuril knew that she was no longer loyal to the Blue Suns this could go very badly. 

She hadn’t been to Purgatory in over a year but Kuril’s operation was state of the art. She knew Zaeed was doing the same as she was, the training that was drilled into her by him, assessing the security. Isla counted four guards in the docking area alone and more in the control center next to the door. 

“Welcome to the Purgatory, ma’am, your package is being prepped and will be delivered to you shortly.” The guard said after a moment of looking her up and down. She was Blue Suns but arrived on a Cerberus vessel. The Turian looked her and her company up and down. The human man with her was scarred and tattooed; he had a menacing look about him that was enough to deter any questions and the Salarian waited patiently. “As this is a high security facility you’ll need to relinquish your weapons here.”

What attracted Kuril to her in the first place was her cool confidence. She acted like a boss but was by far smarter than any of them. “Not a chance,” Isla replied coolly. 

“This is a prison…you’re not coming here armed,” he stated firmly. 

Isla didn’t look bothered, prison or not Zaeed’s first rule was to never give up your guns when you felt like you were walking into a mess. Meeting with Kuril today could go either way. “Why don’t you go get your boss before you try to strong arm me.”

“Everyone stand down.” A gruff Turian voice said as he came through the door behind his guards and made his way down the steps. “Isla,” he began as his tone changed to a low but affectionate one, “welcome back. I was beginning to think you forgot about me.”

Kuril was unusual for a Turian; he was in the minority, a barefaced one. She had a soft spot for Turians. They were one only ones she’d met so far that never hurt her. “Sweet talk me all you like, Kuril, you’re not getting my guns,” she replied flashing him a smile. 

Kuril purred a chuckle. “Let them keep their weapons. This is Isla Devereaux, she’s one of us.” Zaeed was uncomfortable with his tone. He knows. Kuril knew she changed sides on Omega. “If you’ll come with me, I’ll take you to out processing.”

Isla sensed the same thing that Zaeed did and the quick glance from him was all she needed to confirm. Her exterior was cool as ever but inside the wheels in her head were spinning, trying to figure out his angle. The Warden prattled on about his ship and business, Mordin asked questions, Zaeed casually insulted him but Isla remained silent…she’d seen it all already. She knew his racket inside and out. 

“Doctor, if you follow Bradley here he’ll take you down to processing so you can supervise the release of Jack,” Kuril said and looked to Isla. “I am going to verify the funds have transferred. Isla, would you care to join me?”

If she said no he’d be suspicious, in the past Isla enjoyed coming here, she could care less about the prison and the extortion, the prison was safer than Omega and Kuril was nice for a tough guy. She gave a single nod and casually turned to Zaeed. 

“He knows,” Zaeed said quietly and Isla cleared her throat. 

“Yeah,” she replied quickly. “Go with Mordin and handle the trade-off. I’ll handle Kuril.”

Zaeed nodded even though he didn’t like it, Isla grew up on Omega surrounded by mercenaries and criminals. She hung around people like Vido and himself, and was trained by him; he had complete faith in Isla’s ability to handle herself. Didn’t mean he was comfortable with it. 

Kuril’s quarters hadn’t changed, for a prison ship, he lived like a king. With as much money he raked in he better live the high life. She used to love being here; Kuril treated her like a Queen when she was there. He tapped the screen on his terminal and grunted satisfied with the enormous amount of money that dropped in then collected the glass of clear liquid he poured and moved to Isla. “Here.”

She took the glass he offered her. Kuril kept a bottle of premium Vodka just for her. “Operation looks good, Kuril,” she commented to him. “Side business must be booming.”

The Warden didn’t fence with her. “What are you doing on a Cerberus ship?” he asked downing his glass of Rellus, Turian Scotch, in one shot; normal behavior for him.

Isla sipped her drink and sighed. “Just an assignment.” 

“By who?”

She cocked her head at him maintaining her calm demeanor. “Kuril…why so nosey?”

Kuril set his glass down. He shared a drink with her, his form of an icebreaker, he’d done it when they first met and made friends, now he wanted to know what she was doing on a Cerberus ship. “I haven’t seen you in over a year. You used to make regular visits.”

That was true, at least until Archangel caused more trouble than he was worth for Omega. “Yeah, Omega had a little suicidal vigilante fiasco.”

Kuril leaned against the far wall; he was feeling her out which threw her theory that he knew she was not Blue Suns anymore into question. Kuril was a careful man, he spent years as a cop on Palaven and even longer as a mercenary. “I heard about that. Heard it all ended in a firestorm too.”

“Mercenary population was thinned considerably, that’s true,” she replied staying a cool as ever. Isla was a good interrogator among the Blue Suns, she was very good at reading people and Kuril knew that. “Too bad I wasn’t there for it, been on ‘special assignment’ with Cerberus for the past couple months.”

Lie. He didn’t tip his hand but she lied to his face. “What do they want with Jack?”

“I’m not really sure who Jack is…just assigned to help Cerberus pick him up,” she replied taking another sip. This time there were no half-truths to it, she really didn’t know anything about the convict known as ‘Jack’. “What can you tell me?”

Kuril’s expression was mixed but she got surprise from it the most. “Cerberus didn’t tell you? Jack is a dangerous, crazy, and very powerful biotic. Done it all from theft to murder to drugs to terrorism.”

“Sounds perfect for a terrorist organization,” she muttered and Kuril grumbled. 

“What’s really going on, Isla?”

“Just an assignment, Kuril.” Another lie, it had to be. The Blue Suns would never send one of theirs to work for Cerberus. Tarak liked her Omega as an enforcer and interrogator. Vido liked her as a toy and a good negotiator. That’s how she and Kuril met; Vido let her off Omega to negotiate for a bigger piece of Kuril’s operator. Neither Tarak nor Vido would let her off Omega to work with Cerberus. 

“Isla,” Mordin’s voice came through the comm, “transfer complete. Taking Jack to docking bay now.”

That was Isla’s cue to leave. As nice as it was to see Kuril again she wasn’t comfortable, he was fishing. “Pleasure doing business with you, Kuril,” she winked and the Turian looked down. Isla admitted there was still an attraction to him but the only Turian she had on her mind was Garrus, since the day she met him he was all she wanted. 

“And it’s been a pleasure having you back,” he replied and Isla felt the familiar feeling of a pistol barrel pressed into her left temple. “But you’re not going anywhere.”

Grace under pressure was a key skill as a top class mercenary. Isla had always prided herself on the fact that she had that skill well in hand, but still, having a gun poised to blow her head off was a nerve racking experience. “What the hell are you doing, Kuril?”

“How stupid do you think I am? The entire faction on Omega wiped out but one or two survived the bloodbath with Archangel.” Isla was thankful he wasn’t a mind reader; she was cursing in every language she knew. “They reported to Vido and Vido sent it down the chain. There isn’t a fucking place you can hide in the Terminus where the Blue Suns won’t be gunning for you as a traitor.”

“Kuril-…”

“Shut up,” he growled sharply. “Now, your friends can leave with their package as Cerberus has held up their end of the deal but you stay.”

She didn’t snipe, didn’t retort, and didn’t even scoff. “That’s not gonna happen.”

“Then they all stay. You think I don’t recognize Zaeed fucking Massani? Your mentor? I keep Jack, and who knows how much Vido will pay to get his hands on you.”

Isla banked that was a bluff, Kuril would probably just keep her here but so far she’d overestimated her hand. “You know what he’ll do to me, Kuril; you know what he’s already done.”

Kuril knew, he knew all too well what a son of a bitch Vido Santiago was, Isla was his favorite toy and she was never willing. “Then you shouldn’t have lied to me.”

“Kuril, I’m not kidding, don’t do this.” He ignored her and his Omni-tool lit up giving her the moment of distraction she needed. He was in armor so getting him to drop the weapon was going to require brute force; she brought her left hand up trapping it under her arm stepping into Kuril and punched the Warden hard in the face, then a second time, the third one was blocked but before he could counter attack she ducked under the arm she had trapped bending it back unnaturally. He dropped the pistol as she heard a crack and Kuril howled. All species were venerable at the knees and Turians were no different so when she kicked the back of his right knee he dropped down to a more manageable height. He struggled as she still held his right arm with her right and put her free arm around his neck. “Don’t do this, Kuril, you’ve always been good to me I don’t want to hurt you.”

At this point, Kuril’s affection for her had two categories; one, she was a traitor and she lied to him so he’d take great pleasure killing her himself and two, he liked a woman with spirit and Isla was kicking his ass right now. He’d never wanted her more. He fought back, damning her hold on him. He was still bigger than she was and she couldn’t hold him for long. Kuril dug his talons into the one around his neck and his body bucked forward flipping Isla over his head and thus freeing himself from her hold. Kuril favored his right arm but his left was just fine and before she could get to her feet he was over top of her with his left hand around her throat. 

Isla pulled the pistol she was carrying but despite the injury to his arm Kuril stripped it from her with eerie ease. “Kuril!” she croaked out as his grip tightened. He was either going to kill her or choke her enough until she passed out. Garrus and Zaeed were right. She’d been too overconfident with her ability to ‘handle’ the Warden if he knew. Her focus narrowed in a biological response to being strangled. “Kuril, stop!” Trying to push a Turian away while being strangled wasn’t particularly effective. Turians had longer arms which still afforded them the leverage needed to continue the task. Isla put the palm of her right hand on his chest and sent an overload through his armor. 

Kuril grunted at the voltage and went rigid tightening his grip briefly before collapsing onto her. 

Isla gasped for breath as his grip was released; she took a moment to breathe again before pushing the unconscious Turian off her. “Oh, fuck me,” she cursed and coughed as she spoke. Garrus was going to kill her. She staggered to her feet and coughed more, she wasn’t sure what his staff knew but Isla wasn’t going to chance it. She needed to keep them busy and if she remembered correctly Kuril’s terminal could run the whole prison if he needed to. All she needed to do was release a block and his guards would have hours of fun. The Warden wasn’t dead so she was on the clock and needed to do this quickly. The tech in her took over as she used her Omni-tool to clone his and bypassed the security on his terminal. From there it was simple matter of overriding the security of the cell block and releasing the prisoners. The maximum security wing was the one she chose. Sure, they were the worst of them all but they would keep his guards busy for a long time. Alarms sounded immediately and she ran leaving the Warden unconscious on the floor. 

**

Isla tried not to look too terribly suspicious as she scurried out. Guards were already preoccupied with the alarm indicating a cell block failure. It was a drastic move that she hoped Mordin and Zaeed weren’t stuck in the middle of. The guard at the door to the docking bay was one she knew, a human who was also from Fhel Prime. She tried to relax and act casual which she found hard since Kuril just tried to kill her. “What’s going on?” she coughed a few times to mask the hoarse voice.

“Looks like a malfunction in the max wing, better get out of here.” He said and she patted his arm. 

The unplanned plan may have been improvised but all things considered it went well, she couldn’t get through the door fast enough and swiftly made her way to the airlock with Zaeed, Mordin, and the cryo chamber. 

By the time she got there she was shaking like a leaf as the adrenalin crashed. “What happened to you?” Zaeed asked and she doubled over bracing her hands on her thighs. 

“Doesn’t matter.” She coughed, her throat was sore but not like a cold, and she hit the airlock button. “Moreau, get us out of here and step on it.”

Zaeed was worried, she was shaken. It was hard to shake her up and he could see the red marks on her throat. “What happened?”

“I just made an enemy.”

**

The mirror reflected her mistake, Zaeed saw the proof, Garrus saw the proof, and now she saw what she felt. It had been nearly two hours and Kuril’s left handprint was damn near perfect around her throat. She grimaced when she prodded the tender flesh; it was a bruise that you tell stories about, survived a notorious Turian Mercenary hand to hand. Something told her she wasn’t going to be proud of it. Zaeed was going to grunt and glare and silently lecture her for being stupid but then again he was the man who nearly got strangled by a Hanar merc. Garrus was going to be the worst, he was against her going over there in the first place and she told him that she could handle Kuril. Turned out Kuril nearly handled her. 

“Perfect,” she grumbled and her voice sounded like she smoked a pack of cigarettes. 

“You said you had it handled,” Garrus said loudly as he barged in. 

Isla pulled the plain grey shirt over her head leaving her barefoot in Cerberus’ white and black pants and a simple shirt. “And I handled it,” she croaked and then hacked a few times, it was no use this was not a cold or something stuck in her throat. 

Garrus’ blood boiled seeing the marks of Kuril trying to choke her. “Isla…,” he growled irritated and upset.

She glared at the heavens. “For the love of…he knew,” she admitted but managed to sound all the more annoyed. “You were right. Zaeed was right. He knew I flipped and tried to force me to stay. He was going to ransom me off to Santiago.”

“So much for the ‘Turian you knew’,” he snipped in a condescending hiss.

Isla grumbled. “Garrus, shut up,” she snapped back. “Kuril may have wanted to kick my ass for lying to him and betraying the Blue Suns but he protected me against Vido many times. He never would have handed me over.” It was a complicated battery of emotions that she felt; she’d had a connection to Kuril and found herself actually mourning that loss. 

Garrus’ eyes narrowed. “You didn’t kill him.”

Isla paused. She should have, she really should have. “I couldn’t.” Garrus read her tone and didn’t say anything to that even though he really wanted to yell at her for it. “I could have and I should have but I couldn’t.”

Garrus backed off; it was easy to forget with all they had been through already that they didn’t actually know each other that well. “Are you okay?” he asked realizing that he really should have led with that. 

Her hand went to her throat and she nodded. “Yeah. I’m alright, Garrus…I was just hoping not to burn every bridge I’ve ever created. He’ll be a problem later.”

“Don’t worry about that. If he wants you he’ll have to come through me,” he said and she couldn’t be as optimistic as he was but she shrugged and turned from him.

“How’s it going out there?” she asked changing the subject. 

Garrus allowed the change of topic; he didn’t want his worry for her to ruin any relationship they might have. He was a hot head and he knew that. “Oh, well, that’s fun. Turns out ‘Jack’ is a psychotic super biotic ex-con with a really foul mouth and a chip on her shoulder.”

Isla harrumphed. “Kuril seemed surprised that we wanted…her. Why does Shepard want her?”

“To save a galaxy,” he answered and Isla paused in pulling her hair, still wet from the shower, into a ponytail. She scoffed and Garrus read her mind. “Don’t laugh, it’s true. Sidda already kicked Saren and Sovereign in the teeth, I have complete faith that she can do that with the Collectors.”

“You sound like you’re in love,” she teased and Garrus snorted loudly. 

Garrus shrugged. “Many Turians do,” he replied and she gave him a strange look. “But I’m not one of them. The two that do…it’s like a Skycar wreck, you just can’t look away.”

“Oh…someone likes the soap operas,” she chuckled. 

“Way more explosions than that,” he muttered. “Sidda did want to talk to you though.” She nodded quietly and started to pass him. His right hand gently gripped her arm, effectively stopping her. “Isla, I…,” he began and then suddenly stopped, he’d spent a lot of time and effort keeping her at a distance it felt strange to voice his feelings. “I’m glad you’re okay… don’t scare me like that anymore.”

Isla flushed at his words and turned to face him, she stood so close to him she could feel the body heat. Garrus usually shied away from the close proximity but they weren’t on Omega anymore and she reached up pulling his head to hers in a kiss. Kissing was an emotional display foreign to most Turians, he’d never been kissed before but he understood the meaning and pulled her close. 

**

Isla wasn’t particularly thrilled with the Cerberus crew; they were terrorists, Human supremacists. As a former Blue Suns mercenary she figured the Cerberus crew eyed her with the same opinion and suspicion. The Blue Suns may have started as a legitimate security organization but it certainly wasn’t now; they were criminals. Garrus had told her that Sidda and Cerberus didn’t really get along so it was perplexing to see her on a ship full of them. She was the boss, that was clear, but it still begged the question. Garrus trusted her and for that she gave Sidda the benefit of the doubt. 

Sidda’s quarters were three times bigger than what she had on Omega. The bathroom alone was half the size of her apartment. The fish tank was a nice sight; Omega didn’t have many of those, only Aria and those rich enough to support it. The colors were beautiful and she smiled just looking at it. 

“So where are you from?” Sidda asked taking her away from looking at the clear blue tank. 

“Fhel Prime,” she answered as the Commander popped the top off a bottle of Scotch. “Though I haven’t been there since I was 8, practically grew up on Omega.”

Sidda raised the bottle to offer a drink. Isla shook her head, she never liked Scotch. “Colony kid,” she commented with a snort and Isla gave a slight smile. There was no mean tone in the comment and Isla was proud of being a colony kid. “That explains the toughness.”

“Proud of it, you?”

Sidda was born in the Medical Bay of an Alliance ship. “SSV Nightingale, Alliance hospital ship.”

“Oh, an Alliance Brat,” Isla replied as Sidda offered her a seat on the couch. “You were born for this.”

“Literally,” she chided. “Are you okay?” she asked gesturing to the marks on her neck. Isla didn’t say anything but she nodded. “So what happened?”

She didn’t want to get into the whole thing, no one liked to admit when they totally fuck up. “Kuril knew. He gave me an ultimatum and we disagreed.”

Sidda liked Isla, she so unassuming. The smile, the accent, the pretty face…no wonder Garrus liked her. “Well, I wanted to thank you for helping today. Who knows what would have happened if I went.”

Isla knew. It was one thing she knew for certain, she knew exactly how Kuril would react to someone like the undead Shepard showing up on his doorstep. “He would have tried to capture you and if that didn’t pan out kill you and keep his payday.”

Isla’s words were decisive and left little room for any interpretation other than her own. But Sidda knew that Kuril wasn’t dead. He’d be a problem later. “So what are your plans? Obviously, your Blue Suns status has been revoked and if all your buddies respond like Kuril, nowhere is gonna be safe for you.”

“I can take care of myself.”

The marks on her neck, familiar to Sidda as a Turian’s hand, said otherwise but the flipside to that was that she was still alive which meant she overpowered the Turian to some extent. “No doubt,” she replied. “But Garrus will kill me if I don’t invite you to stay. Someone with your knowledge of the Terminus and Blue Suns activity could be incredibly useful. You are welcome to stay.”

From what she had been told by Garrus, Sidda was going to need all the help she could beg, borrow, or steal. “Garrus tells me you’re going to save the galaxy from the Collectors.”

“And the Reapers.”

Reapers, the boogeyman of the galaxy. She remembered a lot of noise going around about the Reapers a few years ago when the Citadel was attacked by the Geth and Saren. Then it all seemed to stop about six months later. Isla wasn’t sure if she believed it, how could a hyper evolved race of malevolent machines exist? “Right,” she said and sighed, the only reason she was here was because of Garrus. She ran across a bridge in a firestorm to get to him and she wasn’t about to leave now. “If anything else, I’ll stick around to make sure Garrus doesn’t try to eat anymore rockets.”

Sidda chuckled. “He is a hot head isn’t he?”

Sidda would know better than she did. What Isla knew of him personally would fill a shot glass; it was hard to get to know someone who lived in the shadows under a codename, who never took his helmet off, never spoke of family, or his past out of fear that anyone he got close to became an instant target. “He’s a lot quieter now but I suppose you’re right…you don’t become ‘Archangel’ without a little flare of the dramatic and hot temper. He lost his whole team…he’s changed.”

“I noticed,” Sidda commented. Garrus didn’t want to talk about that yet and she wasn’t going to go behind his back and ask someone else. She got the impression that Isla wouldn’t tell her anyway. She wouldn’t if the roles were reversed. “So what do you know about Korlus? I have a Krogan to retrieve.”


	38. Meant to Be

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Thirty Eight: Meant to Be

Victus had read the message over a dozen times. This had to be a joke and when he found the person responsible he was going to take them apart with a dull spoon. The problem was that the more he read it the more the little voice in his head told him that it wasn’t a trick. Now he had two sides of himself at war; the logical side that spent over a year letting her go and moving on and the crushed romantic side that just wanted her back. He went the way he always did, with logic and summoned Maridus. 

“Sir?” Maridus asked as he found the General in the War Room. 

Victus turned to his second in command. Maridus was a Colonel now, a well-deserved promotion and Medal of Valor for his actions on Taetrus during the brief but bloody war with the Separatists. “Read that.”

Maridus tapped the screen and leaned in close. His face fell and Victus thought it was the same one his was when he first read it. “This is somebody’s idea of a joke.” Victus grunted part of him thought the same thing but there was another part that wanted to believe it. Maridus’ eyes narrowed at his mentor. “You think it’s real.”

Victus waited to respond thinking about the right response. “Maybe,” he said finally. “Send a response. Meet at the Citadel.”

Maridus was dubious about this, if it was her that was good and bad. Victus had changed, the dynamic on the ship had changed, people who’d gotten along and served together for years didn’t work well together anymore. “I suggest Cerrus and I go to confirm.” He didn’t want to think of the mess this could cause but if Sidda was truly alive they needed to confirm. 

Victus gave a singular nod of agreement. His mind was already a clouded mess that he didn’t want to think about. 

**

Sidda didn’t think she’d ever scrub herself clean or get rid of the stench stuck in her nose. Isla called Korlus a garbage scow with a climate and there couldn’t have been a description more dead on that that. It seemed like everywhere Sidda went lately the Blue Suns were there, Omega, Purgatory, Korlus…she couldn’t go five feet without tripping over one. 

“I’m serious, Isla, the Blue Suns are like roaches, squash one cell 30 more take their place. I mean really…”

Isla couldn’t wait to get out of her armor, Korlus was a hot planet and she could feel the sweat soaking through the clothes under her armor. “The Blue Suns are the largest, most prevalent Mercenary group in the Terminus…I’d get used to it.”

“Terrific,” she muttered. The benefit of having Isla onboard was her knowledge of the faction. “Next time we hit the Citadel you need new armor. I almost shot you twice.” The mercenary grunted a response and headed to the crew deck for a shower as Sidda did the same but headed to her quarters for her own shower away from everyone else. 

The shower felt better than sex. Korlus was hell; she was certain she found hot, humid, stinky hell and it felt so good to shower it away. During the course of the shower she heard her terminal beep. New mail. She’d check it later. She had a new member on her team, a tank bred baby Krogan. Baby was a bit of a stretch considering he was fully grown and ready for action; of course her Cerberus chaperones were up in arms about it all. ‘Krogan can’t be trusted’ and the same nonsense that kept the bad blood flowing. Having a pure Krogan ready to take on the Collectors sounded like a good idea to her; Wrex was enough to strike fear into the hearts and minds of the enemy, Sidda wondered how this one would perform. 

She toweled off padded around with only a towel wrapped around her body. Though she was confident she found all the surveillance devices that still left EDI to spy on her. The first email she found when she began sorting made her sit down. She actually got a response. Victus responded to her message and asked her to meet on the Citadel. Sidda went numb and she couldn’t honestly tell how long she sat and stared at it but when she came back to her senses she keyed Joker. “Joker, take us to the Citadel.”

**

Maridus paced as Cerrus perched on the railing. The pacing was nerves for Maridus, the idea of his friend Sidda being alive was a lot to take in. He had hundreds of questions but the biggest one was the obvious one: where had she been all this time? 

“We should not be here,” Cerrus commented as he lost count of how many times Maridus had paced the area. Maridus said nothing but his brief glower spoke volumes. “Colonel, this is a waste of time. I thought we were past all this, she’s dead. I thought he let it all go.”

“He did,” Maridus answered. Cerrus was the best person to come with him to verify if it was a trap. He’d question everything but his personality grated. 

“So why are we here?”

“Because the letter he got sounds strikingly like Sidda,” he replied and was amazed how calm he sounded despite his irritation. “If it was Anara wouldn’t you want to know?”

The short answer to that was, yes. The only information he had about her above classified death was she died on Tuchanka in 2176, but even if he got word that Anara was still alive he’d be suspicious. “People don’t come back from the dead, Damar,” he shot back through slight grumble. 

“Do you have to be such an asshole all the time?”

Cerrus huffed irritated. Most of people’s opinion of him was well earned but he wasn’t heartless, if he was he wouldn’t worry so much. “Why is it people assume I don’t care?” he griped. “I understand loss better than most.”

Maridus paused. Cerrus was a bit perplexing; he was a logical, straightforward soldier and thought that way both personally and professionally. Victus respected him for that but it made him a hard man to like. He was about to respond when he saw her. Even Cerrus stood up straight. 

Her hair was shorter framing her face in thick brown locks and the shrapnel scars were gone and she had faint new ones but if this wasn’t Sidda she was a damn good look alike. She swallowed thickly and offered him a smile. “Damar,” she said through a happy smile. 

Maridus was shocked to say the least and he looked back at Cerrus finding the same expression on his face as well. He had no idea what to say so instead of the dumbfounded look he tapped his Omni-tool to scan her. Sidda patiently waited a few seconds for his device to beep. “Sidda?” he questioned as the scan proved that it was her not an imposter. 

She smiled broadly. It was an awkward situation, how do you have a conversation with people who thought you were dead. “Hi, Damar.”

Maridus stepped toward her and extended his hand. “Where have you been?”

“Dead,” she answered simply gripping his hand tightly. 

“Bit of an exaggeration don’t you think?” Cerrus commented and Maridus dropped his head. Cerrus was doing exactly what Maridus expected him to do. He wasn’t going to be bound by personal feelings with Sidda so he would scrutinize where Maridus might not. Still, it was annoying. 

Sidda simply smiled. “Nice to see you too, Cerrus.”

“Explain,” he ordered keeping his tone even but firm. 

“Damn, he’s still blunt,” Sidda said with a snort and Maridus shrugged slightly. He wouldn’t have been that blunt but the question remained. 

“Question still stands, Sid, we were told you were dead and the Alliance never found your body.” Maridus replied and she sighed. 

Sidda hadn’t quite worked out the simplified explanation just yet but there was no time like the present. How do you tell a friend that you were dead but were now alive? “Clinically dead for 2 years and change, they just finished piecing me back together.”

Maridus beat Cerrus to the next obvious question. “Who?” 

Lying would be counterproductive and she didn’t want to do that to them. “Cerberus.”

Cerrus’ weight sifted from foot to foot. They had all heard of Cerberus, they had all encountered the organization in some way shape or form. Cerrus remembered them from the survivor of Akuze. “Cerberus? As in the-…” Cerrus began and she cut him off.

“The terrorist organization, yes.” She finished for him. 

“Why?” Cerrus beat Maridus to the punch this time. 

She gave a casual shrug. “They need me,” she commented. “Human colonies are disappearing. If it’s all the same to you I don’t really want to get into the specifics right now.”

Cerrus and Maridus traded looks. “The readings show a lot of implants, Sid. Prove it.”

Sidda sighed and looked at Maridus trying to think of something personal that someone might not know unless she knew him. “You’re claustrophobic.” 

“That’s in my file,” he countered and Sidda thought a moment. Maridus didn’t really have embarrassing or dirty little secrets, she never thought of that before. He was a golden child, top of his class at the academy; son of two Generals, married to Garrus’ sister, served with Victus the longest…it was all personal but all public. 

“On Nebewa you were captured and tortured by Cerberus cell called Hellhound.” She said and Maridus raised his eyebrows. It wasn’t personal but it was information on a Spectre mission that consisted of just three of them. 

“That’s not,” he replied and Cerrus shook his head. 

“She could have found that out working for Cerberus,” Cerrus said and Maridus couldn’t argue with him. This was why he immediately thought of Cerrus to come with him even if he was an ass. 

Sidda sighed; she understood the suspicion and looked to Cerrus. He was easy. “How’s the love bite?” she asked with a wink. No one talked about Oriso, he never told anyone that a human marked him and the scar had healed seamlessly. Cerrus straightened. His typical tick to show he was uncomfortable. “Talk to Tali lately? I saw her on Freedom’s Progress.”   
Now Cerrus’ mandibles clenched. “I know what you two are here for. To vet me. Ask me whatever you want, take as many scan’s as you want, but I’m me.”

Maridus believed her and looked to Cerrus who, despite his ridged posture now, did as well. “Get the General.” 

Cerrus left and Sidda cocked her head to the right studying him. “What the hell happen-…who rearranged your face?” she asked seeing the shiny metal synthetic mandible and several implants on his left jaw both upper and lower. 

Maridus looked down, after two years it still wasn’t a topic he liked discussing. He was fine with what Victus had done but having to endure a lot of reconstructive surgery and dealing with his mate was a bit of a pain in the ass. “The General.”

Sidda was shocked. She didn’t expect that answer. “What? Why?” she asked getting closer to inspect his face. Victus was a very controlled man; she refused to believe that he did this.  
“I mighta…kinda pushed him into it,” he said and leaned back on the railing. 

“What happened?” she asked looking at him as he batted her hands away from his face. “Why would Adrien do that to you?”

Maridus didn’t want to talk about this; he didn’t blame Victus but still would rather not tell her about the dark path her mate was on for a while. “I really think you should ask the General.”

Sidda shook her head growing irritated. “Damar, damnit…”

He relented and huffed. “It was when you died,” he stated, and blinked at the way that sounded. “Garrus came by personally to tell him. The General became quieter than he usually is and I know him…that wasn’t a good thing. At first he wouldn’t talk to anyone then he buried himself in work then he tried to deny almost everything. He had to talk I knew that, Tarquin couldn’t even get him to talk,” he added and cut to the chase. “Long story short I tried to push him into talking in the Training Room but he didn’t want to talk…so I pushed him for any type of response.” Sidda could see the result of that, it was plain as day. “Which I got. He lost complete control; it took three of them to pull him off me. I’ve never seen or heard of the General losing control like that. Truthfully, I don’t remember much…,” he added and paused thankful to any god that would listen for that little detail, “which is fine by me.”

Sidda was horrified and couldn’t help but feel responsible. “Are you okay?” 

“Cybernetic implants in my jaw, 5 reconstructive surgeries, few new teeth, and a synthetic mandible. I can’t spar anymore…doctors say it’s post-traumatic stress.” It wasn’t her fault that she died but the ripple effect was felt by all who knew her. He could see the look on her face and sighed, this was depressing. “I don’t blame him, Sidda. He loves you, losing you almost killed him, I’d feel the same way if Solana died.”

She had the same feeling as him and changed the subject. “So what’s new…besides half your face?” 

Maridus chuckled; Sidda’s humor was still there. “I’m a Colonel now,” he said with a slight shrug.

“Congratulations. How’s your mate? Oh and last I knew you had a baby on the way.”

He nodded with a smile. He missed his family; he’d rather be back on Palaven right now. “Solana is good. We had a daughter.”

“Please tell me you didn’t name her after me,” she droned and he laughed. 

“No. Ellia.”

“Ellia Maridus…very nice ring to it,” she smiled approvingly. They continued to chat for several minutes, the conversation was still awkward but the more they talked the more they fell into old rhythms. The friendship was still there. 

Movement to his right caught his eye and he looked over to see Cerrus returning with Victus. Victus paused ten feet from them looking coiled like spring. Victus felt his heart increase the moment he saw her, he didn’t need to ask a battery of questions to know that was her. “Sidda,” he breathed in the same shocked tone as nearly everyone else when they saw her. “Spirits,” he said and blinked a few times. “I didn’t believe it when I got the message.” Now he didn’t know what to do, he spent nearly a year wishing she was a live and another year putting himself back together, now she was here, alive and well and standing in front of him like nothing happened. 

For her it didn’t feel like two years, she didn’t know how he was going to react. Would he pick up like nothing happened or had he simply moved on? The door to his quarters opened and when she stepped in it was like Victus had seen a ghost. He was shocked. It had taken nearly a year for him to come to grips with her being dead and now she was standing in front of him with a few new scars but still the same old Sidda.

Maridus gave a jerk of his head to Cerrus and they vacated the area letting Sidda and Victus have some privacy. Whatever else it may be…it was not going to be a fun conversation, a lot of things had changed. 

Sidda’s heart skipped a few beats seeing him and she smiled. For her it had been just a few weeks since she saw him last, right before being sent to the Terminus. “Hi,” she greeted in a sheepish awkward tone. “I guess I should say you haven’t aged a day,” she joked. “You look great.”

Sidda took a step toward him wanting to fall into his embrace but Victus took a step back maintaining the distance between them. Sidda felt her heart sink and he saw it in her face. 

He felt like he was going to fall apart so he flipped the military switch, as it were. “I can’t, Sid,” he said and sighed, this was harder than he had anticipated hell he never expected to speak to her again so this was beyond his wheel house. “Sidda, I’m sorry…it took me a long time to get over you. I can’t do that again…I’m sorry,” he said quietly and Sidda half expected this. Part of her understood how long she had been dead and the consequences of such. 

There was a flicker of heartbreak in her face and he saw it before she effectively masked it with the same blank look that he had. He felt his own chest go tight, it killed him to do this but the past two years were nearly worse than when Miral died, he couldn’t do this again. “I see.” She said and didn’t realize that her throat went as dry as paper. She cleared her throat and blinked looking away from him. “I…I understand,” she added and did her best to pull herself under control. 

She wasn’t and he could see that. “Sid-…” he began but she held up her hand and cut him off. 

“Adrien,” she breathed and sighed aggravated that it came out shaky, “its fine…I understand.” She felt like she was gonna burst but forced herself to keep it together. “I’ll go. I just felt that you would want to know that I’m not dead. I’ll…I’ll go.”

Victus stepped toward her and gently put a hand on her arm. “Sid…stop. I’m sorry, I just can’t do it.”

It was hard to hear, very hard to hear but she wasn’t going to fight and cry about it. It had been two years and he had to suffer thinking she was dead. She understood but it hurt. “Adrien, I understand-…”

“No you don’t,” he interrupted in a slightly raised tone. He didn’t want to fight and he didn’t want to argue, he just wanted to see her again. “Here,” he sighed trying to stay as disconnected as possible. He opened her right hand and placed her tag in her palm. “Your mother let me keep it. You should have it back.”

“You met my mother?”

“At your funeral on Arcturus,” he answered with a nod. “And I was sorry to hear about your father.”

She gave him a surprised look. Her father dying of a heart attack last year was just one of the many things that she’d been hit with, she hadn’t even spoken to her mother yet. “No one knows,” she said and cleared her throat trying to mask the lump that had formed. “I uhh…it’s just one of the many things that’s changed. Two years is a long time.”

Victus fought himself, he still loved her but he couldn’t put himself through losing someone else he cared about. He came to terms with Miral’s death and with Sidda’s death so seeing her alive was a shock to his system and he refused to let himself be so compromised again. “I’m sorry, Sidda.”

Sidda swallowed. “Stop saying that,” she said and turned from him. “I should go.”

He broke her heart and he knew it. This was the hardest thing he’d ever done. “Sidda…” she didn’t answer and kept walking. 

Victus moved to lean on the railing gripping it tight enough to leave marks. Part of him screamed that he’d just made the biggest mistake of his life but the rest of him told him that it was for the best, no matter how much it hurt. Sidda dying affected him in ways he never anticipated and he nearly killed a friend because of it. “Maridus,” he called knowing that Cerrus and Maridus hadn’t gone far and probably saw the entire exchange. 

“Sir?” Maridus answered moving to him. 

“Tell the rest she’s alive. They’ll want to know,” he said and Maridus could think of at least one that would want to know more than Victus himself. 

Maridus nodded and lingered a moment. “Are you alright, Sir?”

There was a pause before Victus answered and he answered honestly. “No. No, I’m really not.”

**

Sidda made her way through the Lante feeling right at home again. This ship was her home for a year and the crew was like family. Maridus and Cerrus were taking her through the ship making sure no one panicked seeing her up and walking around again. 

“So you’re a major now?” she questioned and Cerrus gave a nod. “Finally broke that glass ceiling…congratulations.”

“Thank you,” he nodded simply. Maridus split off as Sidda continued to walk with Cerrus into the Training Room. 

The fact that Victus had moved on from her over the past two years was what a part of her had expected, it hurt but she kept that to herself as she made her rounds to the old faces that were still onboard. The Training Room was her typical haunt when she was assigned and it was still a place to find the unit members. She and Cerrus walked in on a spirited debate between Ruvvak and Kalvaris over who had a better takedown technique. 

“I always found grabbing the crest was a good way to take a Turian down,” she tossed in getting their attention. Cerrus sighed and leaned on the wall, he was the one she used that maneuver on. He had to admit it was good move but his neck hurt for days. 

Kalvaris and Ruvvak looked at her and were shocked that she was standing there. Last thing they knew she was dead, killed in an attack on her ship while she saved her crew. They were told she was alive but didn’t believe it until they saw it. 

“Son of a bitch!” Kalvaris exclaimed. “Sidda!” 

“I don’t know if I should hug her or shoot her,” Ruvvak commented, up until 30 seconds ago Sidda was dead. 

“Please don’t shoot me, Linus, I’ve been shot at enough lately,” she replied with a chuckle.

“Man, it’s good to see you again!” Ruvvak added as she was nearly crushed by the two Turians scooping her up in hugs. “I knew you couldn’t be dead.”

Sidda grunted as the Demolitionist squeezed her hard enough to crack her back. “I was dead,” she managed out and then grunted loudly. “Oh, put me down, Linus before you kill me again,” she griped and Kalvaris noted the missing shrapnel scars from the left side of her face but found new ones. “Lt. Kalvaris, how the hell are you?” she asked swatting his hand away from her face.

“It’s Captain now,” he replied.

“What is this? Promotions all around?” she chuckled. “You still on Centar?

Kalvaris scoffed. “You think he’d ever let me go?” he chuckled gesturing to Cerrus casually leaning on the wall. 

“Holy shit, Shepard…,” Masso commented joining them. “You look good for dead.”

“Hi, Vhel,” she grinned. The only ones she hadn’t seen were Rajin, Desala, and Nov.

She turned from them to Cerrus and the big Turian didn’t move from his position. “Hey, where’s Cal?” she asked and Cerrus waited a moment before answering. “I figured he’d be the first one to maul me at the door.”

“That’s where Maridus went,” he replied. 

Sidda narrowed her eyes and looked up at him. “He doesn’t know I’m here?”

Cerrus took in a deep breath and sighed it back out. “Nov took your death badly, Maridus wanted to tell him in person rather than just spring it on him,” he explained and Sidda’s brow furrowed. 

“Well, I’ll go see him then,” she started to walk away but was stopped by Cerrus’ hand on her arm.

“Shepard, he is not the same person he was two years ago,” he cautioned and Sidda’s frown deepened. 

“Sidda!” she heard a familiar voice yell and she looked over to see Nov, the red faced Turian had not changed at all, still a tall and broad imposing figure. His eyes found her and she smiled. 

Nov froze, stunned…shocked beyond belief. Sidda was standing before him, in the damn flesh. He wasn’t dreaming…this was real. 

“Cal,” she greeted with a smile. Seeing Nov was a shot in the arm to her, he was a big part of her life, he was her best friend and there had always been a tension between them. 

Nov hadn’t realized that he had stopped breathing all together until his brain forced him to take a breath. He sucked in a sharp breath as he shook his head sharply trying to decide if what he was seeing was real. She was supposed to be dead but if Garrus had been wrong he wasn’t going to turn it away. “Sid,” he breathed and snatched her up in a tight hug pulling her to him. “Sidda.” She heard his voice crack through his emotions and if she didn’t know any better she swore he was about to cry. “Oh, Spirits, you’re alive.” 

His embrace felt different somehow, it felt like it was a long time coming. That feeling you get when you are exactly where you are supposed to be. That is what she felt when he squeezed her tight into him. He acted on his feelings this time and kissed her deeply. Sidda froze in place, surprised but didn’t pull away, keenly aware that they had an audience. Kissing wasn’t a Turian custom; it was a Human and Asari one, as important as touching foreheads to Turians. Nov wasn’t going to repeat his mistakes, not this time. The universe was throwing him a second chance. The Spirits were giving him the one thing he wanted and he wasn’t going to waste it. 

Nov’s touch was gentle as he placed his right hand on her cheek. When he broke away she was still confused but not angry. “Umm…hi,” she managed out feeling her cheeks burn hot and seeing anywhere that wasn’t painted red on Nov flushing blue in embarrassment. 

He cleared his throat and blushed more than he ever had in his life to the mix of shocked, surprised, and grinning squad mates around them. “Umm…can…can we talk?” he asked gesturing for her to walk with him. She happily left with him mostly to get away from the countless sets of eyes on her making her blush even more. 

Nov caught the glare from Cerrus and ignored it. He’d never approved of Nov’s infatuation with her and thought it very inappropriate for him to act on it now. Maridus slapped his shoulder as he passed him. Nov had changed and not for the better when she died, he became reclusive, bitter, and self-destructive. 

“Clear out,” he ordered and the Rec Room cleared of people. He still couldn’t believe she was there in front of him. “Where’ve you been?” he asked stepping close to her. 

“Recently resurrected.”

Nov never wanted to let her go again but he stopped himself from wrapping her up in his arms again. He touched her cheek with his right hand trying to make sure she was real. His eyes scanned her, she looked the same but somehow different. Her hair was different, instead of the long solid braid he was accustom to it was cut short, just barely below her chin. The shrapnel scars on her face were gone replaced by new ones that littered her otherwise flawless skin. His heart told him to kiss her again but he decided against it, not yet. “Resurrected?” he asked as he gently placed his right hand on her cheek, feeling her warm skin under his fingers. It was her; she was alive…but how.

“It’s a very, very long story as I’m told,” she said and Nov could care less if the story took 20 years to tell. He took his right hand away from her and gestured for her to sit down. 

“I have time,” he said. “I have a lot of time…you know me I love a good story.”

**

Maridus scoured the Citadel hunting for one person, Sidda was there on the station and he knew Garrus was with her. Sidda told him that he and a friend were shopping for new armor and he found him at the best armor store on the Citadel.

“Vakarian!” he barked in a raised tone causing Garrus to turn suddenly. “I should punch you in the damn face.”

Garrus’ eyes narrowed at his lifelong friend. The threat raised alarms and his face throbbed at the mere thought of getting slugged in his very tender face, especially by Maridus. “Please don’t,” he requested when Maridus got to within striking distance. 

“You knew Shepard was alive and you didn’t think to mention it…what in the hell happened to your face?” His tone never changed from angry but when he saw the bandages and burn on the right side of his face his posture switched to concern. 

“Gunship rocket,” he supplied as Maridus caught movement from his right, a black haired human female. 

“Ouch. Looks like it hurts.”

“It does,” he answered. “Please don’t punch me. I didn’t know she was alive until I saw her through my sniper scope on Omega.”

“Sniper scope on Omega, what the fuc…forget it, I don’t think I want to know,” Maridus sighed heavily and looked over at the woman who’d joined them. “Who’s this?”

“Isla,” she introduced simply and Maridus nodded respectfully. 

“Damar Maridus.”

There was a slight resemblance between them but Maridus’ skin was a dark charcoal color that was striking against his green eyes. She barely saw the blue markings that matched Garrus’, but what was even more striking was the shiny silver synthetic mandible and sporadic implants. Something awful happened to him. “You two brothers?”

“Close enough,” Maridus answered. 

“He’s my brother in law,” Garrus clarified. 

“You guys almost match,” she commented referring to their similarly damaged faces. 

“He has to copy me at everything,” Maridus muttered. 

**

Sidda gave Nov the abridged version of the Resurrection of Siddalee Shepard, Nov just listened. She told him of the Collectors, Cerberus, the Reapers, building a new and amazing team, the spiffy new Normandy. The whole time she spoke Nov just absorbed it like a sponge, he missed her voice, her jokes, and smile. He heard every word and hoped he didn’t look like an idiot staring at her. 

“So what you’re saying is that’s it’s been a typical week for you,” he joked and she laughed. 

“Yeah, after a two year long nap the universe is making up for lost time.” She chuckled and Nov smiled for the first time in what felt like ages. 

“You have not changed and neither has your luck.” 

She chuckled softly. “Can I ask you a question?” she asked and Nov’s nod was slight, she could ask him anything. The question on her mind for the last 30 minutes officially trumped the thought of Victus breaking up with her 5 minutes after seeing her. “Why did you kiss me?”

Nov blushed and ducked his head in embarrassment before looking back up at her. Time for the truth…finally. “Truth is I‘ve wanted to do that for years.”

For some reason it didn’t surprise her. She’d always felt a bond with him, a strong flirty bond. “Why didn’t you?”

He tried to tell her a few times but he lost his nerve each time. Some would call him a coward but that wasn’t it. He was an honorable man and lived by a code and that code caused him more heartache than anything else in his life but he honored it. “You weren’t mine. I couldn’t do that to him.”

Sidda swallowed hard as her heart started to beat harder against her chest. “What changed?”

“I don’t care,” he answered. “I want to be with you, Sidda, and I’ll fight him to do it.” His confession hinged on whether or not she was receptive to the idea, she hadn’t slapped him for his very public display in front of everyone so he took that as a good sign. 

Sidda nearly broke down; he had no idea that Victus crushed her almost an hour ago. This was so overwhelming she almost lost her strong composure. “Cal-…” she began but was cut short by the beeping of her Omni-tool. She had an incoming message; she managed to keep herself together and answered the beeping. “What?”

“Hey, Commander, priority message coming in from you-know-who.” Joker said and Sidda grumbled. 

“Yeah, tell him he can wait.” She replied with a firm tone. She couldn’t decide where she wanted to be right now. Running from Nov’s obvious confession but wanting to stay all the same, looking for anywhere other than this ship so she didn’t run into Victus, not wanting to go back to the Normandy because she really didn’t want to know what new hellhole The Illusive Man was going send her. It was complicated. 

“Right.” He replied and the line ended. 

“Cerberus?” Nov questioned and Sidda grumbled. 

“Yeah...probably.” 

“I’m sorry if I embarrassed you in there,” he said and Sidda shook her head. The kiss felt great, like it was meant to be but the, the kiss in front of a dozen people was the embarrassing part. 

Sidda shook her head and gave him a smile. “It’s fine.” She said sweetly then thought about what he said before. He didn’t care anymore and would fight Victus for her. “Cal, look-…” the same beeping as before interrupted her and she cursed. “Motherfucker. What?” 

Garrus’ face appeared on the small screen. “Reunion not going well, Sid?” Garrus asked and Sidda cleared her throat.

“Oh yeah, it’s a real picnic. Say hi to Cal,” she said turning shifting around closer to Nov. The Turian controlled himself.

“Nov,” he acknowledged. 

“Garrus, shoulda known you wouldn’t be far behind her,” he commented as Sidda moved away from him. 

Garrus grunted a response. “We’re done here and apparently there’s an important message for you. Miranda wasn’t everyone back onboard ASAP.”

“Miranda can kiss my ass,” she replied making Nov snort. “Round everyone up I’ll be there in a bit.”

“Will do.” 

Nov stood and moved next to her as she sighed. It was quiet for a moment or two before he spoke. “I’m really glad you’re back, Sid.” She smiled but felt everything that happened in the last hour surging back so far she’d been able to compose herself but the last thing she wanted to do was break down in front of him. Nov pegged half her smiles as fake and sensed that she was barely holding things together; he kicked himself for being selfish earlier and laying his feelings out in the open. She was here with him. She was here with him. “He left you didn’t he?” he asked putting together like he should have done earlier. 

Sidda’s posture slumped a little and let out a ragged breath. “Yeah,” she breathed out in a shaky, emotional voice. 

You insensitive, motherfucker! Nov cursed to himself and he saw her barely holding it together. “Damnit, Sid, I’m sorry.”

Her vulnerability was brief and she beat it back down turning away from him taking the long way around the table. “I gotta go.”

“No, Sidda,” he pleaded but she turned in the corridor holding up her hands while walking backwards. 

“I’m sorry, Cal, I have to go,” she repeated and vanished from sight. 

Nov couldn’t help but feel her pain, he didn’t like to see her hurting, and he didn’t like to see someone treating her the way Victus just did. He paced trying to figure out what he was going to do, he couldn’t stand it. He wasn’t sure how long he’d spent pacing around in the Rec Room but he decided what to do. His empathy switched to anger in an instant and he stormed out. 

 

He considered the professional suicide he was about to do but since he tenure on the Lante was rapidly nearing its end, he just didn’t care. A wedge had been driven between him and the best commander he’d ever served with and it destroyed their relationship. He found Victus in the War Room with Cerrus and Ruvio. 

“Victus!” he barked. Just using the tone unleashed the two years of anger. Two years of maintaining professionalism toward the man who won the woman he loved. Two years of watching that man somehow turning it all off letting her go. 

Cerrus and Ruvio were startled by the tone and Cerrus’ face dropped; Nov body language said it all. “Oh, shit, we’re gonna do this now?” he muttered quietly. This powder keg had been waiting for months if not years. 

“You are the dumbest son of a bitch I have ever met,” he snarled moving right into the General’s personal space. 

Victus didn’t flinch or move but his glare said it all, he was done with Nov being extra insubordinate and far too friendly with Sidda. Not that it matter much now. “Step back, Captain,” Victus ordered somehow maintaining his calm. Just because he ended it with Sidda didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. 

Nov defied him. “I am not your subordinate anymore.” Years ago Nov never would have spoken those words, he loved serving under Victus. The famous General who cared for more than just advancement up the chain, Nov had never found such freedom in an assignment as he did with Victus. Now it was all crashing down. 

“Nov!” Cerrus snapped scolding him but Victus held up a hand. Cerrus growled, they were both stubborn and proud. 

“How could you do that to her?” Nov asked but his tone was far from friendly. “She is the best woman in the entire universe. She’s been clinically dead for two years, wakes up to a world upside down, and your selfish ass can’t even give her the benefit of the doubt.”

Nov didn’t have a clue. He was young and full of it, he never got over Sidda’s death and it changed him. Victus had been through it before, sad to say, and dealt with it the only way he knew how. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Cerrus didn’t like where this was heading but so far no one had thrown a punch, miraculously, so he watched. He watched the two top hands on the ship square off, both were emotionally peaked. One a boiled over anger that had been brewing for years and the other the deadlier quiet simmer. He didn’t like this one bit. 

“Fuck you!” Nov roared. “You don’t deserve her, you never did. And for some reason she chose you.” 

In a flash Victus’ body language change, he was going to fight. Nov was right, he wasn’t disputing that. He didn’t deserve her. “General!” Cerrus boomed. He may have only been a Major but his authoritative voice carried weight and they were both hit by that weight. He didn’t want to see this again. Didn’t want to testify for his commanding officer’s actions when it wasn’t even military related. 

Neither took a swing and Victus took the high road backing off. “Get off my ship,” he ordered in the harshest tone that anyone in the room had ever heard. 

“Happily,” Nov responded with as much disrespect as he could fit into one word. 

“Major,” Victus barked loudly to Cerrus. “Get him off my ship, now!”

Cerrus didn’t say anything just nodded sharply and followed Nov. 

“Sir-…” Ruvio began. One of the rare times she didn’t address him by his first name but Victus waved her off. He was fighting his own demons and lit temper at the moment but knew what she was going to say. 

“He was leaving anyway. May as well do it a few weeks early,” he growled out and Ruvio made a discreet exit. 

 

Cerrus and Nov didn’t get too far, through the CIC and to the lift before they had their very own altercation. “Do have a fucking death wish?” he snarled at him shoving him hard into the lift door. “You’re lucky he didn’t kill you.”

“Me?” Nov shoved him back but the purple painted Turian shoved back harder. “I should kill him for what he did to her.” 

Cerrus had enough of this. They both needed sense knocked into them but it wasn’t going to happen. “All this because of a fucking female!” he yelled gaining the attention of everyone in the CIC. 

The lift dinged and Nov pushed Cerrus back from him roughly. “You have no room talk.”

Somehow Cerrus didn’t take his head off but the rage was building in him now too. They both stepped onto the lift and turned in unison as career soldiers learn to do absentmindedly. Cerrus glared at him. “You are an idiot and a fucking asshole.” Nov glared over at him. It was now complete, exactly what Cerrus warned him of. He had become Cerrus. 

**

Even when Sidda got back on the Normandy she still couldn’t have her breakdown, no, of course not, everyone wanted her undivided attention. She took the call from The Illusive Man; Horizon was the next stop apparently and settled their newest recruit into her quarters. Kasumi was an interesting addition, a Master Thief that needed help retrieving a Gray Box. Everyone wanted something for their service and Kasumi was no different. She had a nice sense of humor though and she and Isla hit it off pretty well. They both also hit it off well with Grunt, the full grown ‘baby’ Krogan had a soft spot for Isla since she didn’t take his shit and apparently thought Kasumi was cute. 

The door in her quarters closed behind her and she didn’t get far before dropping to her knees and started crying. She should have just left it alone. Should have just let Victus go on thinking that she was dead. Embark on the mission that was going to get her killed and all would be right with the universe. She couldn’t handle this; she didn’t know how to handle this. It all was too much to deal with at once but there was nothing she could do about it now so all she did was cry and lose track of just how long she did. 

 

Mordin was hard at work in the Tech Lab, now was the time to see if recruiting him through Vorcha-ville on Omega was worth it. If anyone could come up with a countermeasure against the Seeker Swarm it was him. Time to deliver. 

“Professor,” she greeted. She was tired and he could see that but didn’t comment. 

“Commander, will have countermeasure ready before we reach Omega,” he informed and she gave him a quiet nod. 

“Will it work?”

“Remains to be proven. Untested technology,” he answered and Sidda took the honest answer. She wanted to talk about something, anything else. Anything to distract her from the emotional download she just got. 

It occurred to her that she didn’t know too much about him. She knew he was STG and a brilliant scientist. “So, tell me about you, Mordin,” Sidda asked perching on the counter on the wall across from him. 

The hyper-active Salarian tapped a few things and took a step back from the console. “Happy to,” Mordin replied. “Worked on Omega, Genophage research project, worked with STG, even did an operation with Turian escort.”

Sidda’s head cocked at the past part. She already knew that he worked on the Genophage, not something she particularly liked since the Genophage was morally questionable to say the least. “Where?”

“Tuchanka, several years ago, Cabal operative, ending was…problematic.”

Sidda narrowed her eyes. “Problematic?”

“Had to kill her. Mission parameters; dispose of liabilities. Hated doing it. Very pleasant for a Turian female, from Chatti I believe she said. Married too.”

Sidda blinked, he killed his Turian escort and that was all he had to say about it. “I wouldn’t tell the Turian government that.”

“Nonsense…sanctioned by the hierarchy. Distasteful…but it had to be done,” he replied and sighed changing the subject when the console beeped indicating it was completed with its task. “Ground team armor will need to be modified. Will test it myself. I will accompany you.” Sidda gave a sharp nod and left without another word.

She passed through the corridor into the armory she found Garrus with Jacob. Garrus stood reassembling a Mattock and praising it every step of the way. He saw her enter and picked up the reassembled weapon pulling it tight into his right shoulder and sighting down it. “Sidda, this gun is amazing.”

Sidda chuckled and he set it back down. “Cerberus can certainly make weapons and ships…not much else though.” 

Jacob rolled his eyes annoyed by her malice toward him. She could care less, he hadn’t proven a damn thing to her and neither had Miranda. Rather than feuding with her again about the fact that he wasn’t as bad as she made him out to be he left with a sympathetic look from Garrus. 

“You should really try to give him a break, Sid,” Garrus suggested and Sidda ignored it. 

“All brawn no brain,” she said and Garrus shook his head. He didn’t have a problem with anyone yet but he didn’t argue with Sidda. They would prove themselves and that would be all she needed, until then however. “What the hell is up with the thermal clip?”

Garrus chuckled. “Someone’s bright idea that stuck, they took the idea from the Geth after the attack on the Citadel. It eliminates the permanent meltdown but-…”

“Limits the firepower and if you run out on the battlefield you’re screwed,” she finished for him and he couldn’t argue with that. “Whoever though about this should be shot…with a weapon that uses the heat sink. Poetic justice.”

Garrus laughed then they went silent for a few minutes. He didn’t want to ask how it went; judging by how tired she looked it was certain it wasn’t well. Maridus kept him sort of up to date on things and knew that things weren’t as merry on the Lante as they used to be. “Horizon then?”

Sidda nodded. “Not you. You’re still on the injured list.” She said and turned to head to the weapons locker but found Garrus’ arm shooting up in front of her. 

“Sid, my armors fixed. You didn’t pull me off Omega to sit on my ass,” he argued and she ducked under his arm. 

“Garrus, just a few days ago a rocket nearly killed you. A rocket,” she replied with particular emphasis on the word ‘rocket’. “I’m sorry but I care about you too much to test your kick ass luck with an undefined mission to Horizon that has supposedly been attacked by Collectors.”

“You can’t stop me, Sidda, so long as nobody slaps me in the face I’m fine,” he argued and she snorted shaking her head. 

“Fine,” she relented. She’d rather have Garrus at her back then anyone else onboard but she did worry about him. He would push himself too far and hurt himself and push himself further. “See Mordin…he needs to update the armor. Tell Kasumi and Grunt too.”

“Kasumi and Grunt? Two people we don’t know?” he questioned as he took a few steps toward her. 

“That’s why I have you, Garrus…to watch my back from a Master Thief and a giant ass Krogan,” she said and Garrus chuckled. 

“Kasumi, sure. Grunt, you’re on your own,” he answered as they both began preparing to deploy. She snorted softly and sighed. All she could think of was the emotional roller coaster she was currently riding. Victus ended it less than 5 minutes after seeing him again and Nov kissing her in front of everyone then telling her he wanted to be with her. She needed to kill something or go somewhere she could forget about it for a while. Horizon was apparently it.


	39. Morality

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Thirty Nine: Morality

Horizon wasn’t fun. From the moment Sidda’s feet touched the ground all she could think of was Eden Prime. The same eerie silence was cast over the colony and it brought back uncomfortable memories for her. Nihlus being murdered by Saren, the image that haunted her still, the blue mist of blood as the round ripped through his skull. It stopped her in her tracks as the Kodiak dusted off and Garrus noticed. With a little gentle encouragement she moved on with her team of Mordin, Kasumi, Grunt, and Garrus. Horizon was awful, spooky really. They didn’t find the first person until well into the colony but the Collector presence was confirmed. The giant ass ship was her number one clue. There was something very, very off about this place. 

“What the hell is that?” Garrus yelled as giant flying bug joined the battlefield. It had a laser for a main weapon and he heard Grunt curse when it made contact with his shields and drained them in seconds. 

Sidda bitched under breath. Hold the tower. “I don’t know, Garrus, why don’t you go ask?” Sidda replied sounding irritated and diving into cover as it was content to chase Grunt. 

It didn’t look friendly, it was also ugly. He’d rather not have a conversation with it. “Pass. Little testy huh?”

Sidda shifted her cover to keep it, now she was glad bringing along a bigger team. “I’m sorry, Garrus, I just get a little uppity when I’m getting shot at constantly!”

“It has a shield. Biotic based. It’s vulnerable when on the ground,” Mordin shouted as Kasumi cloaked so she could reposition. Grunt roared at it and challenged it ready to go hand to hand but thankfully the tank-bred Krogan was smarter than that. He retreated and it jumped for him, Garrus’ heavy concussive shot smacked it in the left side of the ‘head’ and it staggered.

“Oh, swell,” she muttered and heard Grunt hit it with a concussive shot before getting out of the way of its legs…again. “Garrus, can you take it out?” 

She asked him because he had the biggest gun. The Mattock was a spectacular weapon but his Spectre sniper rifle was a beast. “Keep it on the ground long enough and I’ll turn it into scrap,” Garrus answered ducking down behind his cover and tapping a few things on his Omni-tool to adjust his armor piercing settings. Sidda nodded forming the plan. 

“Right. Kasumi! Grunt! Mordin! Let’s keep it occupied and on the ground!” she shouted and released a shockwave turning four Husks into bowling pins. 

Kasumi snorted in response to Sidda’s ordered. “Well, you don’t want much do you?” she commented but not loud enough for everyone to hear. 

“Hit it with everything you got, get it as weak as possible,” Garrus advised shifting his focus to the straggling Collector Captains that Mordin was entertaining. He had to hand it to the Salarian…he was way tougher than he looked. Garrus lent him a hand and sniped one and then another that Mordin had frozen…it shattered on contact with the large bore weapon. 

“EDI! Time?!” she ordered and opened up a burst on the creature. The almighty Mattock barked and ripped through the Collector creature. It squealed at the damage and turned to find it. Sidda dropped a singularity on it and then a warp causing a biotic explosion that triggered some secondary explosions from fuel tanks. “EDI!” Sidda was having a hard time keeping track of her team and had resorted to weapons file. Grunt’s Vindicator she heard, Mordin’s Tempest she also tracked, and the Shuriken from Kasumi. They were all still up.

“Still calculating, Commander, please standby.” 

“ ‘Please standby’…,” Sidda grumbled and had to move as Garrus let the sniper rifle speak. It damaged the thing and its barrier bubble went back up. “Jesus Christ, most sophisticated computer in the galaxy and has to take forever to calibrate a gun,” she bitched coming to a stop next to Garrus as the creature landed on Grunt and Mordin. 

Garrus didn’t comment, he was focused, his sniper rifle was better than anything Cerberus had to offer and better than most anything else out there. “Kasumi, hit it with an overload,” he calmly ordered. 

Kasumi did as asked at the same time Garrus did then he fired and the creature disintegrated into some kind of blue material. It seemed a little anticlimactic when all was said and done and Sidda looked at Garrus. “God damn, Vakarian.”

“I love this rifle,” Garrus muttered satisfied with himself. “I still got it.”

“Yes you do, Garrus. Yes you do,” she replied patting his back. “Everyone alright?”

“That was fun,” Grunt chuckled. “It was a good fight, Shepard.”

Mordin dusted himself off; it did land on him and Grunt. “No lasting damage, Commander, good to be back in the fight.”

Sidda nodded to them all. For the first time out together as a team they did pretty well. “EDI? I swear to god…you better be done.”

“Calculations complete.” EDI replied and the team watched at the global defense system fired. “GUARDIAN online, firing.”

The massive weapon hit the Collector ship several times and prompted it to run. The ground shook as the behemoth vessel tried to achieve the necessary thrust to get off the ground. “And of course they run like a bitty bitch,” she grumbled. It was better than having that thing parked on the colony but she would have liked to have seen the alien ship destroyed not running away with half the Horizon colony onboard. 

“Problematic,” Mordin observed as Delan came out of hiding and began to shout. 

“Look who came out of his bunker.” She heard Grunt sneer. Sidda ignored Delan yelling at her to do something to stop them from taking everyone. To that she responded. 

“What the hell do you want me to do about it? They’re up there, I’m down here. I did everything I could,” she snarled and took stock of the situation. All in all her mission was a success. They confirmed the Collector presence, gathered significant useful data, and kicked the Collectors out. One successful mission but she knew in her bones that this was nowhere near over and this was going to get worse before it got better. 

“It was a good fight, Shepard, you did all you could,” Garrus nodded giving her the praise she deserved. Too many things got hung on her and she was blamed for things that were far beyond her control. Like right now. 

“Shepard? As in-…,” Delan questioned coming to the realization of who she was; the Hero of the Citadel, first human Spectre, the Alliance’s best. 

“Commander Siddalee Marie Shepard.” A very familiar voice said drawing her attention. “Commander of the SSV Normandy, Hero of Elysium, first human Spectre, and Savior of the Battle of the Citadel.” 

Sidda blinked seeing Kaidan walking toward her in black armor. “Oh my God, Kaidan,” she smiled and stepped toward him. “All this time I’ve been harassing Anderson for your whereabouts and you were here the whole time.” They hugged and Delan had enough of them. The colonist scoffed loudly and walked away. “It’s good to see you, Kaidan, you ain’t changed a bit.”

Kaidan took a step back and Sidda sensed something wrong. “What are you doing here, Sidda?”

She snorted internally, typical Kaidan straight to the point when he was focused. “We got word there was a Collector attack on the colony, that’s what I’m investigating,” she answered careful to avoid the Cerberus point. Kaidan would lose his mind. “What are you doing out here and why don’t you seem surprised that I’m alive.”

“We got a tip, Sidda, that you were here…working with Cerberus,” he answered quietly and Sidda swore under her breath. “Help me understand this. We’re told that the Collectors are targeting the colonies and Cerberus is involved in something and not long after we get here the Collectors and Cerberus show up.”

How could he have known? Someone told him…but who? She didn’t even have to look to see that Garrus was wondering the same thing. “They brought me back to life, Kaidan; the Collectors are targeting human colonies and probably working with the Reapers. It isn’t over, Kaidan, Sovereign was just the start.”

Kaidan only heard one thing. Cerberus. “So you’re working for them.” It was a statement not a question and Sidda swallowed. 

“I’m not working for them, Kaidan, I’m working…I’m working with them. For the colonies,” as soon as she said it she didn’t believe it. How could anyone believe that? 

Again, Kaidan only heard the fact that Cerberus was involved. He’d been so colored by his past with them it clouded any reasonable judgement he might have had. “I don’t believe it,” he shook his head in sheer disbelief. They both saw what had been done to Kahoku and Toombs, and the countless others that they didn’t find. “You’re working with Cerberus, terrorists…Garrus too.”

“Damnit, Kaidan, I hate Cerberus just as much as you do but look at the bigger picture here. Cerberus was right about the Collectors attacking here,” Garrus said sternly. Kaidan was an intelligent man but they’d seen too much of Cerberus’ terrorism for Kaidan to be swayed. Garrus could see the look in his eyes, he thought she was a traitor. He thought Garrus was a traitor. 

“I don’t believe this…,” he said and looked at Sidda. She’d never received that look from him before, disgust, anger, disappointment, and he was ashamed of her. “You’re a traitor.”

“Don’t call her that,” Garrus growled and Sidda raised her hand to stop him. 

The word hit her like a brick. “I’m not a traitor, Kaidan,” she snapped back and he backed away. 

Kaidan owed her. She’d saved his life on countless occasions, he aspired to be like her, and she was a hero. Giving her a head start was all he could do. “You better go, Commander, before the Alliance gets here.” 

“Kaidan!”

“Let him go, Sid. He’s right though…we need to go,” Garrus said and Sidda changed to barely contained anger. Garrus keyed his comm. “Joker, get the Normandy down here. Get us off this rock.”

**

Back on the Normandy, Sidda wanted to let the bottle up aggression out. She cried over Victus now she was angry over what happened with Kaidan. Kaidan called her a traitor, blamed what happened on Horizon on her or at least on Cerberus but to him it was the same difference. 

“Got the Illusive Man for you, Commander.” Joker said and Sidda channeled her very bad past two days into the revelations with what happened on Horizon. 

“Oh, perfect, I’m looking to pick a fight,” she growled harshly as Garrus followed her into the comm room. They were still in full armor with weapons and all. Dirty, sweaty, hot, tired, and now more than a little aggravated. People gave them a wide berth.

“Should be interesting,” the Turian muttered as he stood off to the side. 

The QEC came up and Sidda came out swinging. “Shepard, I’m told Horizon was a success. Collector presence confirmed.” The Illusive Man greeted noticing Garrus just barely in the view of the halo on the floor. 

“Oh, blow it out your ass,” she replied and Garrus nearly laughed. He loved that woman. “You knew.”

He narrowed his eyes, confused. “I don’t follow.”

“Bullshit. You knew the Collectors were going to hit Horizon, you tipped off the Alliance. The rep said the only reason they were there was because they got a tip off that something was going to happen and I was going to be there,” she snarled. Sidda reminded Garrus of a Turian, he liked that…always had. 

“Something did happen.”

“They could have evacuated the colony!” she barked. “Now half of it was abducted. Cut the cloak and dagger bullshit and start telling me the fucking truth. I’m not kidding. If you think scorched earth is bad you ain’t seen nothing yet. Stop lying to me. How the hell did they know that I’m alive?” Garrus was curious to know what her scorched earth would look like. He was also worried that Cerberus had a ‘kill switch’ in case she got a little too out of hand. 

The Illusive Man maintained his demeanor, unbothered and cool. “We needed to confirm and it confirmed another theory. The Collectors are targeting you.”

Sidda blinked and Garrus’ eyes narrowed. “You heard me, damnit. Cut the bullshit.”

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Not even curious, Commander?” he questioned and Sidda twitched at the question. “I think the Collectors are tracking you, they destroyed the Normandy, and tracked you to Horizon.”

Internally, her head spun, externally, she showed next to nothing. “Why?” she asked knowing if she didn’t ask Garrus would. 

The Illusive Man stamped out the cigarette. “You’re a threat, Commander, you killed a Reaper.”

Sidda was certain she didn’t like that but didn’t press it. “Terrific. No more colonies get hit, are we clear? You see a pattern, notify the Alliance.”

He nodded quietly. “Fair enough,” he said. “I have something else for you, a few more dossiers, continue building your team. I will find a way into the Omega 4 Relay.”

Sidda turned and moved away. “Great,” she muttered and walked away collecting Garrus as she went. 

The Turian paced her. “Targeting you…I don’t like the sound of that,” Garrus said and Sidda agreed. 

“Lot of shit I don’t like lately,” she griped as they entered the armory, time to stow the armor and weapons. 

“Sidda,” he stopped her as the door opened. “Kaidan’s wrong, okay…you’re not a traitor.” 

“Yeah…yeah for some reason the platitudes just don’t work,” she said and walked away from him. 

Garrus lingered, he didn’t like seeing her slipping back into the state of mind she was in after Nihlus was killed. It took Nov to jar her out of it but she was never the same afterward. He was witnessing a relapse and it worried him. He didn’t stop her or press her to talk. She’d been through enough. 

**

Hours passed and the Normandy was in stealth mode moving though a section of space notorious for pirates. She didn’t want to pick any unnecessary fights so she had Joker take a leisurely route to the next destination. 

Garrus couldn’t figure out what he was hearing. It was music but nothing he’d ever heard before. He keyed the comm. “Joker, what in the hell is that racket?”

“Music,” Joker answered, “the Commander likes the classics.” 

Garrus vaguely remembered that. “That’s Earth music?”

“Yep. Old…like 200 years old.”

Garrus followed the noise, hard not to. 

The Normandy had a small exercise room, a few weights, a punching bag, and an area just big enough to spar in. Sidda didn’t have anyone to spar with, Garrus was probably the only challenge she’d find but his face had been through enough so she took her aggression out on the bag. The music blaring was loud enough to drown out any other noise so she could ignore everything but the music. She did like the old music, anything from the 1940s to the late 2000s made her happy. She loaded her omni-tool with a bunch of songs when she was on the Citadel and now Walking on the Sun was echoing loud enough it hurt Garrus’ ears. 

“Will you turn that down!” he said in a raised tone over the music as she worked out on the bag. She tapped the Omni-tool and the volume went down some but didn’t turn off.   
Garrus could see that she was upset. She had been upset before she went to Horizon, and now she was even worse. Horizon he was there for, and knew Kaidan had pissed her off, then the Illusive Man. Her mood was more personal. “So what happened with Victus?” he asked leaning into the bag, steadying it for her and her punches came with more force. 

Sidda flashed him a brief glance before settling her eyes back on the bag. “How do you think it went?” she replied. 

Sidda was really laying into her punches and Garrus grunted. After everything Maridus suffered at his hands Victus just walked away. “Come on, really?”

She didn’t look up. “I’ve been dead for two years, Garrus; it couldn’t have ended any other way.”

He shook his head, it was hard to believe. How could he just walk away? “I’m sorry, Sidda,” he said and she grumbled. 

She leaned into the punches even harder for a rapid combo. “People really need to stop saying that. Nov kissed me though…very publicly.”

Garrus laughed, now that he had expected. The Turian was in love with her and clearly had been for a while. “Well that was about time…he destroyed the Lante rec room when Maridus and I told him you were dead. Cut up his hands...I think Maridus said 32,000 credits and change in damage.”

Sidda paused. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. It’s a toss-up on which one took it worse…Victus or him.”

Sidda sighed and continued with her workout. Nov didn’t tell her that…Maridus didn’t tell her that. “No one told me that,” she muttered and decided to change the subject. “Did you look at the dossiers?”

“Yep,” he replied allowing the subject change. “I think we should get Tali first then head to Illium.”

“Agreed,” she said and winced at a punch that didn’t land where she wanted it jarring her right wrist. “Cerrus will kill me if she gets hurt and I’ve already died once.”

Garrus chuckled. “And he’d make it painful and messy.”

She paused and looked up at him with a scoff. “Yeah, because the broken shoulder being the last thing I remember was nice and rosy,” she told him and he shrugged, he’d never died and would have to take her word on how it felt. “You wanna spar?”

Garrus wasn’t stupid and only had one answer to that. “Not even maybe. You’re too angry and my face is stitched together with hopes and dreams and good intentions.” 

She started again on the bag with a chuckle. “Pussy.”

**

Grabbing Tali off of Haestrom was a bitch and a half and it was a very good thing that Cerrus wasn’t there to see it. Haestrom had an environmental hazard, major radiation in the sunlight and sticking to the shaded areas was easier said than done. She and Garrus had flashbacks to two years ago as they were once again fighting Geth. Picking off the smaller ones wasn’t bad, Primes were a bit tricky but with a team of herself, Garrus, and Zaeed –a wealth of combat knowledge between them all –it wasn’t bad. The tricky part was getting to Tali herself. A giant Colossus had taken up residence and picked off all of the Quarian Marines but one, Kal’Reegar. They’d managed to turn the thing into scrap, this time a combination of Reegar’s rocket launcher and her biotics did the trick while Garrus and Zaeed got bogged down with the thousand other minions around them. 

It was nice to have Tali back on board, though. She wasn’t happy to see Cerberus and made her disapproval known. She did take the AI onboard better than anyone thought she would but she didn’t like Jacob and she didn’t like Miranda. 

“So, how’s things with you and grumpy?” Sidda asked with a teasing grin. They were on the way to Illium and had some time before they arrived. 

Tali giggled lightly. “He’s not that grumpy…he just doesn’t like humans.”

“Doesn’t like much of anything…gave me the third degree when he saw me, I’m glad to see you two are still together.”

“He’s really sweet,” she replied and Sidda could see the colony sigil of Taetrus displayed on her suit. 

Sidda smiled at the sight, Victus gave her a pendant of his. She cursed herself for thinking of that…she hadn’t given that back to him yet and wasn’t looking forward to it. “Next thing I know you’ll be wearing Taetrus colony paint. Anything I should know?”

Tali blushed under the mask. “There haven’t been any ceremonies but its close enough.” The long distance was rough since she was in the flotilla and he was always deployed somewhere but he never forgot about her and always made her feel like his number one priority. 

That surprised Sidda, after everything with his first wife getting seriously involved with someone else seemed unlikely but she was happy all the same. 

Two days later they were on Illium. The Asari world was vibrant, full of life, the same as Omega but with better accommodations. No one really liked Illium. To Sidda and Garrus it was too crowded and noisy, Tali was nervous being a Quarian there…waiting for the stigma that followed her people, Grunt and Zaeed simply felt out of place. Isla and Kasumi didn’t mind it, a good chance to get away from slums and shitty places but even then they were on guard. Sidda just told Jack to fucking behave.

Liara was on Illium and that was a shock. She was now an information broker and had taken to threatening to flay people with her mind. She pointed her in the direction of both their master assassin and the Justicar. It was a Rochambeau to decide who was first on the hit parade. Garrus said the assassin and Sidda said the Justicar. Garrus won. Collecting the assassin named Thane Krios was interesting, Nassana Dantius she remembered vaguely from years ago. Sidda had killed her sister, a slaver, on Sharjila. Now she was off her rocker crazy and paranoid to the point she had pretty much an entire faction of Eclipse mercs as guards. 

Thane was a mystery, terminally ill and willing to go on a suicide mission to atone for his life of death as an assassin. Sidda liked him immediately and even more so when she learned Jacob didn’t like him. Sidda had never actually met a Drell before and she found him a bit strange but also was attracted to the cold confidence. Dying or not, he still took out a building full of mercenaries and managed to get his target too. 

The Justicar Samara was a bit more of a challenge. Murders, drugs, smuggling, mysterious circumstances…Garrus was in heaven. Jack was just bored. Everyone had their little quirks, caveats, quid pro quos even if they hadn’t said anything yet. That just happened to be no different for the Justicar Samara. She was tracking a killer but was hamstrung by the cops to not start an international incident so of course it was her job to fix it. That was her…Miss Fix It. 

Running through the warehouse full of canisters that contained a toxic substance called Minagen X3 wasn’t much fun either. Everything was going relatively well until Garrus missed and busted a canister. Sidda and Jack felt a surge of biotics plough through their system. The cloud of the stuff was toxic as well as a boost and quickly became a liability. Beyond that everything was old hat…which was alarming. The Eclipse boss was a bitch…literally but between Jack and Sidda’s raging biotics she didn’t last long. Garrus felt a bit superfluous next to the Psychotic Biotic and the Raging Biotic. And so the Justicar was added to her little merry band of misfits. If she thought the last band was bad it was worse this time. She had cops, criminals, mercs, terrorists, thieves…and Lazarus. 

“When Garrus hit that canister,” she commented to Jack as they were seated at the table on the crew deck. “I haven’t been that high since before the academy.”

Jack and Sidda had been closely monitored by Chakwas after being exposed to the substance. It had a lot of the same symptoms and effects as Red Sand but was decidedly more toxic. Jack was able to metabolize it better thanks to her overclocked, experimental amp, but Sidda didn’t have that benefit. She had a headache. 

“It was damn fine rush,” Jack said with a grin. “Wouldn’t mind getting some more of it. You handle your biotics pretty good, Shep.”

Sidda shrugged. The Alliance trained their Biotics well and N7 was even better. The title of Biotic Specialist came not only with being a total badass with biotics but a mastery of combat as well. Not quite a Vanguard but more than just an Adept. “I didn’t get those yellow stripes on my armor for nothing. N7 Biotic Specialist,” she said. “Nowhere near as destructive as you though.”

The Convict beamed, or as close as she came to beaming, to the comment; she was a badass and she knew it. For as abrasive as she was Jack wasn’t too bad so long as people obeyed her personal space issues. Sidda was okay with that. 

**

Over a week had passed since meeting with Victus and Sidda didn’t feel any better about it. She wanted to talk more about what happened with Nov but was almost afraid to ask. So much had changed in two years it was almost painful. To deal with the pain and stress she buried herself in work, investigating leads, venturing down to awful planets, and gathering resources. 

The chime on the terminal startled Sidda from sleep. She’d fallen asleep on the couch, exhausted from throwing herself into work. She winced and rubbed her neck as she got up off the couch to see who sent her a message. She tapped it and noticed only one message. “Hey Sid, whenever you’re near the Citadel let me know. I’d like to buy you lunch and talk. – Cal.” Sidda felt a smile spread across her face at the thought of him offering to buy her lunch. He told her he wanted to be with her and to be quite frank it scared her a little. 

“Commander, please come to the comm room, there’s an emergency,” Miranda said over the comm and Sidda responded immediately. She didn’t care if it came from Miranda; it was a distraction from what Nov had sent. 

In the Comm room, Miranda and Jacob seemed alarmed and had the map of a planet pulled on the holo image. 

“What’s going on?”

“An operative of ours has been captured by the Eclipse. We’ve been asked to retrieve him.” Miranda informed. The explanation was simple and to the point, Sidda appreciated that from the genetically modified human. 

“Operative’s name is Tyrone Rawlings. He’s carrying sensitive information on Cerberus that if leaked could irreparably damage the organization,” Jacob continued and Sidda couldn’t help but shrug internally. She’d burn Cerberus to the ground if she could and more than likely would once it was appropriate. “Tyrone’s tough but we need to get him out of there.”

Sidda weighed this carefully; she wasn’t entirely sure how far she wanted to go to help Cerberus. “Where’s he being held?”

“Lorek in the Omega Nebula.” 

Sidda scoffed loudly. “Omega Nebula…go fucking figure.” A lot went through her mind, Cerberus was the enemy and yet she was working for them. If she let the operative suffer at the hands of Eclipse there was a possibility of whatever he knew getting out to damage Cerberus but the military in her said that she couldn’t leave a man behind even if it wasn’t one of hers. “Alright, what do we know about the facility?”

**

Lorek was hot. Tidally locked with a hot and cold pole, it was a rare planet that was steamy hot on the sunward side and totally frozen on the dark side. Miranda, Jacob, and Garrus were the hit parade this time. Miranda and Jacob were not her first choice to bring but they insisted on coming and because of that she made sure Garrus was along. EDI confirmed that the facility was small so a big team would nullify their number, a small great team would be enough to get the job done. Garrus shouldered his favorite weapon and went for the Mattock, close quarters and a sniper rifle didn’t usually mix. 

The Kodiak dropped onto the only platform in view and they were immediately attacked. Sidda and Jacob ducked to the left and Garrus and Miranda found cover respectively on the other side of the catwalk. 

“They knew we were coming,” Garrus announced pointedly like he was saying something he’d already told them a dozen times. In fact he had. He was against this mission, there was no good way to get in without being seen but he was overruled. Miranda pressed to get to Rawlings before they broke him and either end it themselves or rescue him. Jacob pushed for a straight up rescue and for once he and Sidda agreed. “I told you they would know we were coming.”

“Can it, Garrus!” Sidda snapped back. 

Garrus ignored it and shook his head. “We need to get in there right now or we’re gonna be rescuing a dead body!”

“I heard you the first ten times, Garrus!” she barked and heard the Turian growl. “The facility is not that big, there can’t be too many in there. Taylor and I will move first, Garrus, you and Miranda follow suit. We’ll leap frog up. Go.”

Before they knew it they were inside but it was by no means easier. Now they were off the narrow catwalk that negated numbers and into a big square room with two levels and cover that was either good or bad depending on where you were caught. Salarians and Asari were everywhere and none were easy to bring down. Vanguards, Sentinels, Engineers…they all sucked. 

In the enclosed space the two Mattocks sounded like cannons to the point Sidda’s ears were ringing. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck,” she cursed as she moved around to find more cover. She should have listened to Garrus. She found that her new favorite ability was Reave, the rush she got as she sapped life from the enemy and by the time they’d cleared out the bad guys it’d taken far too long. 

“Gonna listen to me next time?” Garrus asked and Sidda growled. 

“Do you fucking mind?” she snapped and the Turian grudgingly fell silent. He had been right and she should have listened to him. 

“Commander!” She heard Jacob call. 

Garrus’ mandibles clinched as soon as he entered the small room. He’d seen enough interrogation rooms to know that he’d just walked into a bad one. There was blood on the floor and walls. 

Sidda felt her stomach turn as she looked at what was left of the Cerberus Operative, they were too late. “Oh, Jesus,” she commented as Jacob ran his Omni-tool over him. It was hard to tell what the man used to look like since his face was so badly beaten. He’d been cut too, his armor had been removed and torture cuts lined his flesh, turning him into a bloody mess. Sidda crinkled her nose. Burned flesh. He was electrocuted too. 

“We were too late,” the operative said in a remorseful tone. 

“Son of a bitch,” she cursed quietly. 

Garrus wanted to say ‘I told you so’ but didn’t. He turned away and looked at the console to his right. He tapped the keys nearly hard enough to break it. A flurry of encrypted data flooded the screen and he cocked his head to it. As good as he was with encryption this was entirely over his head, he didn’t have a shot in hell at decrypting it right there. Nov would even have a rough time with it. “Shepard,” he called and Sidda turned away from the remains of the unlucky operative. “Looks like they were trying to break it.”

“That’s the sensitive data Rawlings was carrying. Probably why he died,” Miranda said and turned to look at him as Jacob tended to him respectfully. Garrus ejected the OSD and Sidda snatched it quickly. 

“I got it,” she said and gestured back to the operative. “Tend to your man. We’ll search out there and recall the Kodiak.”

Garrus eyed her as she tucked the OSD away safely and went back out into the mess of dead mercenaries. “Sidda?” he questioned but there wasn’t really a question in there. His suspicious tone rang through loud and clear, however. 

“What?” she asked and rolled a Salarian over with her foot. 

“What are you going to do?” he asked. “Never seen you so agreeable with Miranda and Jacob.”

“Just search the bodies, Garrus.” She replied with a growl. 

Garrus cocked his head becoming irritated with her attitude. This wasn’t unusual for her, he survived her attitude while chasing Saren but this was beginning to annoy him. “What’s wrong with you?”

“You were right, Garrus, I was wrong…we should never have come,” she said and walked from him tapping the Omni-tool to call the Kodiak back. 

**

It took a few hours but the Normandy was back underway. Sidda buried herself in work reviewing data from The Illusive Man and scans that EDI had fed back. She rubbed her eyes and sighed heavily, she wasn’t sure what time it was. 

“Sid,” Garrus greeted and gave her a single nod as he entered the room. “Got our next location?”

“Couple candidates. Still no idea how the hell we’re gonna get through the relay,” she replied and rubbed her face. 

“Hopefully The Illusive Man will come through,” Garrus shrugged and observed her. She was complex and had a lot on her mind so he forgave her attitude but he was still worried. 

“That’ll be the day,” she muttered and Garrus snorted as he turned to head out. 

“Hey, Garrus,” Sidda began and the big Turian stopped in the doorway and half turned to give her his attention. “I’m sorry. You were right, I was wrong; there was no way we could have gotten in there fast enough.”

Garrus shrugged it off, she could be abrasive when a lot was on her mind and he understood there was a lot on her mind. “Never happened, Sid.”

Sidda smiled appreciating him as a friend. “Thanks for always being there.”

Garrus nodded and shifted as Miranda brushed past him. “Commander, where is the data?”

Sidda sat back down at the table. “I sent it to the Alliance.”

“You what?” Miranda asked in a quick mix tone of shock and anger. 

Even Garrus was surprised. “What?”

Miranda was still shocked at what she’d heard. “That was not your information to give away, Commander.”

Sidda didn’t move and her expression didn’t change. “Cerberus is a terrorist organization.”

“That bitch,” Miranda thought. The gall she had to stand there and try to justify her actions. “So you turned Cerberus property over to the Alliance. Our operative died for that information, Commander. We bring you back to life and you spit on it and give intelligence to the Alliance after our operative died to protect it.”

Sidda returned to her stacks of datapads. “Not my problem.”

“This is a Cerberus ship, Commander; you wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for us how about a little gratitude and a little less self-righteousness.”

“You’re one to talk.”

Garrus held up his hand to stop Miranda’s next volley. “You crossed the line,” he growled and Miranda blinked at the backup she was receiving from a Turian. Sidda was shocked to see Garrus as anything other than an ally. “You had no right to do that, Sidda.”

Sidda stood and narrowed her eyes to him. “Are you kidding me, Garrus?” she questioned. “Do you not remember all the shit we saw? The horrific experiments we walked into? The people that died because of them?”

Garrus stepped toward her with a fierce glare. “That man died to prevent that data from falling into the wrong hands. Our job was to save him, we failed. They didn’t break him and you walk in and ensure he died in vain.”

Sidda didn’t know what to say to Garrus at the moment. They’d never been on opposite sides. “Lawson, can you excuse us?”

Miranda protested loudly but Garrus turned to her assuring her that he was going to take care of this. It was surprising to see, to be frank. “The Illusive Man will hear of this.”

That didn’t faze Sidda. “By all means. Have him call me when he wants to chat.”

Garrus prevented another squabble but had never, in the entire time he’s known her, seen her like this. “I have never seen you do something despicable, Shepard, until today,” he said and heard her grumble loudly.

“Oh, come off it, Garrus,” she hissed. “You love the fact that I don’t play by the rules.”

He growled and moved toward the table leveling a fierce, angry glare at her. “Avoiding the red tape is one thing, this is entirely different. I don’t like Cerberus any more than you do. Now all it will take is one word from whoever is in charge and I can’t protect you from everyone onboard.” 

“I don’t need your protection,” she said and he Garrus slapped his hand on the table with a frustrated noise.

“Then why am I here?!” he roared making her flinch slightly but not out of fear. It was a surprise to see him like this. She’d only seen it once before, on the Citadel with Leena’s rapist. “You pull me off Omega, for which I am grateful, but you tell me you want me here to watch your back but I can’t do that while you’re burning the place down,” his tone shifted from a shout to his regular speaking voice. “I don’t like Cerberus any more than you do but you have got to figure out how to work with them.”

“I do not,” she snarled back. 

Garrus growled in frustration she was as stubborn as he was. “You spent entirely too much time with Victus,” he grumbled and Sidda glowered. “What’s going on with you?” The question had multiple aspects to it; Sidda’s life had never been simple, or at least it hadn’t been simple for the last 5 years, dead or alive, now it was even worse. 

Sidda didn’t answer at first and the mood seemed to calm between them. “All I can think of is Kahoku…finding him dead and Toombs and all the other…I can’t get behind them.”

“I know,” Garrus nodded and couldn’t help but agree with her. Cerberus conducted hundreds of disgusting experiments and they all ended horribly with a body count. “But all it’ll take is one order from The Illusive Man and then you could be back on ice. Or some master kill switch.”

Sidda lowered her head looking at the ground. “I had to send it, Garrus,” she said and Garrus stayed silent. “On the right side of this or not the Alliance needed to know it, even if it takes a while for them to decode it.”

Garrus still didn’t agree but didn’t want to continue in the fight. “I understand but I’ll never agree. Just pace yourself with Cerberus,” he told her and didn’t wait for a response before leaving. Sidda sat down again and let out a heavy sigh, Garrus was right. What had she become?


	40. Worth Fighting For

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for how long this took. I broke my arm so it severely hindered my typing. Thank you to the comments and kudos. 
> 
> There is a soundtrack for this chapter:  
> To Leave Something Behind by Sean Rowe  
> The Only Thing Worth Fighting For by Lera Lynn  
> Taking You Home by Don Henley

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Forty: Worth Fighting For

The crew quickly heard about what had happened. Sidda received several strongly worded messages from The Illusive Man that she simply ignored. She did get a ‘thank you’ note from the Alliance for the gift that’ll take then years to decode and then a nasty message from her mother asking why she had to hear third hand that her daughter was alive. Sidda avoided that. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk with her mother but it was just too difficult to deal with. If she survived this mess then she would talk to her. It did surprise her that after over a week there had been no more messages from Nov. At least he wasn’t pushy. He probably wasn’t even on the Citadel anymore.

To avoid all this she’d thrown herself into work, a lot of work; mission after mission as she fell into cleaning up mercenary messes. She was still a Spectre and apparently policing the Wild West was the best use of her time while she waited on the magic bullet to get through the impassible relay.

Tarith was worse than awful. A swampy, foggy, toxic mess. Part of her punishment for giving up sensitive data was the mandatory fixture of a Cerberus operative on her team. Sidda just let it ride, she did over step but she didn’t apologize for it.

“Alright, comms are futzy,” she began, “and we’re blind as a bat.” Tarith’s chlorine fog blocked their sensors and made a mess of communications. Short range they were okay but it seemed that once out of line of sight they phased out. “Reports of an unknown species too so stay in pairs. Thane, you’re with me, Samara and Jacob. Let’s figure out this relay.”

It was Jacob’s turn in the mandatory rotation, it irritated her to some degree but she dealt with it. Her general opinion of him aside, Jacob was a trained soldier who could handle himself in a fight. Just because she didn’t like him didn’t mean she couldn’t see his use.

The fog was so thick that it was hard to see in front of her more than a few feet. It made following the path more dangerous. One bad step and the unknown terrain could spell disaster, which is exactly what happened. They found a clearing where the fog wasn’t quite so thick and were attacked by a giant bug-like creature Sidda had never seen before.

“What the hell is that?” Sidda shouted.

“It is a Klixen,” Samara informed. “Do not let them get close-…” the Justicar was interrupted when Jacob dodged the fire it breathed. “They breathe fire.”

“What the fuck?” Jacob shouted as Sidda’s Mattock spoke killing the creature right in front of Jacob. The creature exploded in a ball of fire. “They explode too!?”

They heard a roar from above and then the ground shook. The flying creature hit the ground and more Klixen emerged, the fog didn’t help but when the wings of the flying creature flapped it help clear the air. “Great, first fire breathing insects now a damned dragon!” Sidda complained.

They needed to focus and settle, take it one bad guy at a time. Part of her N7 high marks was a command of the battlefield, a battlemaster despite her being a biotic. She could command the battlefield and coordinate all aspects all while lobbing biotics at them. To be a Biotic Specialist she had to have a mastery of both. The dragon, for lack of a better term, was the most visible threat and it seemed that all the Klixen were coming from it. It made a lot of noise, flapped its wings, stomped but that was about it.

“Concentrate on the Klixen,” she ordered but wasn’t sure who heard her, she still had Thane within eyesight and kept it that way.

The scuffle deteriorated and the terrain didn’t help. Samara and Jacob were not out of sight but they could see the occasional flash of biotic power. Sidda and Thane scrambled from two creatures. Sidda shielded herself from one of them exploding causing the one next to it explode. The mad scramble to get out of the way caused Sidda to stumble over the terrain and gravity took over as she plummeted down.

“Thane!” she yelped and the Drell tried to grab her. They both fell, tumbling down a distance they couldn’t quite judge. Sidda hit the ground and felt her left leg twinge from her ankle to her knee. She hollered and cursed profusely.

“Commander,” Thane began as he appeared over her, “are you injured?”

Sidda shifted and groaned, her armor absorbed most of the impact but she felt the rocks on the way down and definitely when she landed. “Probably,” she groaned out in a pained tone. “Help me up.” Thane pulled her up carefully and she cried out when she put weight on her leg. “Okay, yeah, definitely hurt.”

“Broken?”

“Only if my luck changes,” she muttered quietly. All that came to mind was Nov’s comment of a ‘typical week’. “Nah, I don’t think so…just sucks. Where are the rest?”

Thane’s Omni-tool scanned her body; the readings were a little distorted but didn’t reflect anything broken. “Not sure,” he answered and took her hand in his carefully pulling her to her feet letting her use him for support.

“Guess we gotta figure out where the hell we are first. Samara, Jacob, do you copy?” she asked into the comm as she leaned on the Drell, unsurprisingly there was no answer. “So much for an easy one.”

**

Jacob learned to stay out of the way of post mortem explosion and by the time all the rampaging Klixen were taken care of he and Samara were staring at a steadily thickening chlorine cloud and not much else.

“Where’s the Commander?” Jacob asked trying to see through the fog.

“We got separated during the fight. Commander, do you copy?” Samara said but received no response. “Thane, Commander, do you copy?”

“Conditions in the atmosphere are so jacked up the comms can’t get through,” Jacob said and huffed. “We gotta find them.”

“We should complete the mission,” Samara said and Jacob turned to look at her.

“We need to find Thane and the Commander.”

“With the relay offline and low visibility, that would be ineffective,” Samara argued with the soft wisdom of Justicar. “We should continue the mission. As EDI observed, the reactivation of the relay should restore sensors and communications.”

“They could be in trouble.”

Samara was the element of calm. Task driven and the one with the most experience of anyone on board. “We must continue, Jacob. It would be pointless to wander about hoping to find them. Restore the relay and then we can contact them.”

As irritating as it was, the Justicar was right so he followed. To make sure they didn’t lose their way or travel in circles Sidda had issued flares, they’d dropped one by the Kodiak and once Samara found the path with the beacons she dropped more flares. Jacob had to admit that Samara was everything her reputation said she’d be. Neither one of them were techs but the beacons were pretty straight forward, activation wise.

**

The cloudy green sky brightened some drawing Sidda and Thane’s attention as they slowly walked out of the ravine they were stuck in. “You see that?” Sidda asked as she could see the communication towers lighting up above them.

“I do,” Thane replied between heavy breaths. He was supporting most of Sidda’s weight and slipping in the sand. Kepral Syndrome made it hard for him to breath and the exertion now wasn’t making it any easier.

“Looks like some one’s getting the mission done,” she muttered and tried to ignore the pain in her leg but couldn’t ignore the obvious strain Thane appeared to be under. “You doing okay?”

“Fine. Little hard to breathe is all. Perhaps signing on with you wasn’t such a good idea,” he commented but she cackled. Serious or not she would never have left Illium without him.

“Are you kidding? You walked through two buildings worth of mercenaries without help or any civilian casualties. Regardless, you were coming with me,” she said and heard Thane chuckle. Generally, Thane kept to himself, he had a sense of humor he just didn’t show it much.

“I’m pleased you value my very specific skillset,” he replied and Sidda grunted loudly as she tried to help him as much as possible up the steep incline.

“I think that’s the most I’ve heard you talk at one time,” she commented as the climb became easier on them.

Thane liked Sidda, she was fine soldier forced into situations beyond her control. Working for Cerberus, a sworn enemy, to save colonies of innocent people, very noble, he really did like her. “Then I would say, join me more often, Commander, few things are better than speaking with a beautiful woman.”

Sidda almost paused but Thane was controlling the pace. He just called her beautiful. “You’re the first Drell I’ve met so tell me, are all of you such smooth flirts?” she asked and Thane let out a soft chuckle.

**

“I’m going back for the Commander,” Jacob announced as he and Samara were steadily moving up the path following the beacons as indicated.

“We must complete the mission,” Samara replied and Jacob huffed.

“Then you continue but I’m going back. They could be trapped or in trouble, I’ll use the flares as a point of reference.”

“We should not split up, Jacob.”

“Continue on,” he insisted. “I’ll be fine.”

Samara debated a moment before continuing on up the path. The Blood Pack needed to be stopped, Sidda was a Spectre currently assigned to the Terminus so she would help police it with her. Part of her told her that she should go with Jacob but the mission came first.

Jacob trotted down the path following the flares left along the way until he returned to the one left for the Kodiak; he didn’t need to go to the Kodiak as its sensors were useless in the chlorine fog. He passed the remains of the first creatures they fought and kept moving. Sidda and Thane had to be around here somewhere.

**

Thane set Sidda on a rock to rest on after finally clawing their way out of the ravine. He rested his hand on his thighs and composed himself. Physically he was in great shape, like nearly every Drell, the Kepral Syndrome however created issues breathing but he wasn’t about to pass out now because he helped haul his injured ‘employer’ up a hill.

“You good?” she asked and carefully stood. A twinge of pain hit her left leg but she didn’t collapse. Thane nodded; at less than three feet from him she could clearly see it. “Alright, let’s go find the others.”

“How?”

Sidda limped forward and put her left hand on his shoulder as she moved then gestured up to the connecting communication beacons. “Follow the yellow brick road, Toto,” she said lightly before remembering Thane wouldn’t know the phrase, she headed it off. “Earth book, forget I said anything.”

“L. Frank Baum. Very interesting novel,” Thane replied and Sidda snorted.

“Thane, you are without a doubt the most interesting assassin I’ve ever met,” she said with a chuckle.

“How many assassins do you know?”

“Alive or dead?” she quipped back and he chuckled.

The more she walked on the injured leg the easier it was but the limp was still noticeable. “I can see a flare, in the distance.” The Drell announced. His vision was another reason why Sidda was glad to have him, of everyone on board his vision was far superior. He could actually see through the fog to a point. He pointed out a flare that she couldn’t even see.  
After a moment Thane stopped like he’d seen something else in the distance. “Commander.”

In the distance they saw flashing like lightening. It was in the same direction all the beacons were pointing so Sidda and Thane deduced that someone was duking it out in the distance. But that wasn’t what he was fixated on. He walked forward a few more feet and knelt down.

“Oh my god,” she exclaimed as she knelt down. When Thane rolled the body over she recognized the armor. “Oh my god, Jacob.” Both she and Thane’s omni-tools lit up at the same time but the scan didn’t show and vitals.

“His mask is broken,” Thane observed. “He is dead.”

Sidda could see that, she could also see the two Klixen in close proximity and melted portions of his armor. “Looks like he died taking them out. Son of a bitch.”

Thane took stock of what he could see around him but only saw the Klixen carcasses. “I don’t see Samara.”

It was the standard understanding of all people in military command that casualties were inevitable. It didn’t mean Sidda was okay with it. No one liked losing people no matter who they were or how unpopular but she focused, she thought of the last person she expected to think of; Cerrus. The Turian had a singular focus and no matter how much of a pain in the ass he was she’d learned a lot from him. “She’s probably responsible for the lightshow up over the hill,” she deduced. “Drop a flare…we’ll come back for him.”

**

Returning to the _Normandy_ was a silent affair, they’d found the Justicar. Samara was the picture of seasoned experience and came strolling off the hill with comms restored to a degree. Chakwas took Jacob’s body and Sidda was bombed by Miranda almost immediately.

By the time it was all said and done Sidda was having a really bad day. Chakwas has seen her also, her left leg was not broken but the ankle had a minor sprang and the knee had been twisted. All in all it wasn’t terrible just damned inconvenient.

“Look, what do you want from me?” Sidda snapped at Miranda while Chakwas applied the wrap to Sidda’s ankle. “I told everyone to stay in pairs.”

“So where were you then?”

Clearly Miranda thought she was Superman. “I fell down a damn hole.” She’d already told her that, twice.

“It was a ravine slope,” Thane clarified.

Miranda was losing her temper with this, Jacob was her friend and now he was dead during a seemly simple mission. “Shut up,” she hissed to the Drell. Thane simply cocked his head to one side but fell silent.

“Hey, don’t tell him to shut up he saved my ass out there,” Sidda snarled.

“You care more for the aliens than you do your own people. You never liked Jacob so you passed him off as soon as you could,” Miranda argued back as Chakwas cautiously eyed the room as she finished up the last wrap.

Sidda sneered. She didn’t care if it was Human or Hanar, Batarians she could do without but Cerberus was equal opportunity hate, and Sidda hated that. “I don’t much like you either but you’ve survived so far.”

“I’ll be harder to kill than Jacob.”

Sidda was offended. “You think I did this on purpose?”

Miranda was about to answer when Samara spoke up. “It was my error. I should have gone back with him or forced him to stay with me and complete the mission. If you wish to blame someone, Miranda, I believe I am the one.”

“Samara, we’ll talk about not staying in pairs later. This was an accident, Miranda, an accident,” she repeated and stood up trying not to hobble too much. “Now you can report whatever the hell you want back the Illusive Man but if you still think I did this on purpose then you and I are going to have a real problem.”

“Whatever happened and whatever the result, it was not the Commander’s fault,” Thane said quietly and Miranda’s reaction wasn’t readily identifiable. If she believed them she didn’t show it, the Cerberus Operative just left the Medical Bay with a searing glare.

**

Sidda sat down on the gun bench across from were Jacob’s usual haunt was. She hissed as she laid her wrapped leg flat on the table. She couldn’t help but think that Miranda had been correct, she never liked Jacob, she was responsible for his safety and she’d failed miserably in that area.

“Commander?” a familiar voice said and she quickly wiped the escaped tears off her cheeks. “Are you okay?”

It was Thane; to say they’d bonded in that one mission was an understatement. She liked the Drell. He wasn’t anything like she’d expected him to be. She didn’t answer his question but passed him the bottle of Whiskey she was sipping on. “Have a drink with me?”

Thane thought a moment but graciously accepted the invitation, generally he didn’t drink but he would in this case. He inclined his head to her and took a sip.

“I never gave him a chance,” she said after a few minutes of silence. “He was Cerberus and I automatically painted him with the same brush I do all of them.” Thane stayed silent as she spoke. “He wanted to earn my trust…I was never going to give it to him.”

Thane hadn’t been around as long as Garrus had but he listened and he read. He read up on past missions and knew of Cerberus’ reputation. “What happened was not your fault.”

She knew that, she and Thane fell down a damn hole and got separated. Not exactly her finest moment. “I certainly didn’t help.”

“You did all you could, Siha.”

“My translator must have fritzed out there. Siha?”

“One of the warrior-angels of the Goddess Arashu; a fierce and tenacious protector,” he explained and Sidda’s brow furrowed, she also felt a few butterflies. He gave her a pet name.  
“And that’s how you see me?”

“From what I’ve seen, yes, you are a Spectre. One who died and returned to protect the innocent,” he explained. “You care for those you are in command of despite your feelings. It is an honor to serve with you.”

She smiled though she tried to hide it and the blushing. “I’m flattered, Thane, thank you.” Not really sure what else to say that wouldn’t sound dumb. The Drell passed the bottle back to her and gave a polite half bow as he turned to leave. “Thane,” she called stopping him from walking away. The Drell turned giving her a curious expression, “thank you for your help down there.”

The Drell inclined his head and put his hands behind his back, his typical stance. “My pleasure, Siha.”

**

After enough time spent wallowing in her misery she hobbled her way to find Garrus, Thane was becoming someone else she could trust and confide in but right now she needed Garrus. The Turian was the one person on the ship, including Tali, she could talk to about anything and he’d do anything for her.

She grumbled at the steps leading to the main battery, Chakwas assured her that both the knee and the ankle were just sprained and would heal up good as new but not quick enough. About half way to the door she could hear what sounded like an argument on the other side. One voice was definitely Garrus so she assumed the other was Isla.

“You knew and you didn’t tell me!” Garrus barked as they ignored the opening door.

“Of course I told you. By the time I knew what happened you were already under siege,” Isla defended and Sidda’s brow furrowed.

“You didn’t think to mention it afterward!” Garrus yelled and Sidda saw Isla duck her head.

 _“Uh-oh,”_ Sidda thought but stayed quiet. She knew Garrus saw her but it appeared that he didn’t really care that they now had an audience.

“Garrus, I…I don’t…,” she began and Garrus’ hot temper flared as he slapped a canister off the table that had his rifle on it.

“Sedonis betrayed me and my whole team and you didn’t tell me!” he roared in her face. He was angry…really angry and Sidda had only seen this kind of anger from once before.

“Garrus, he didn’t have a choice-…,” she replied sounding like she was trying to plead her case.

“There’s always a choice!”

“Alright, Garrus, that’s enough, back off.” Sidda interjected pushing him back. “What the hell is going on?”

“None of your business, Sidda.” Garrus snapped.

“Lantar did not have a choice, Garrus. I know those interrogators,” Isla went on as Sidda was still playing catch up.

Isla was the best interrogator that the Blue Suns had, she would know. Garrus’ angry glare was something Isla had never seen, at least not directed at her but he was beyond angry and she saw it in his eyes. “Was it you?” he hissed with absolute venom in his tone.

Isla gave him a look that could only be described as offended, hurt, and angry all at the same time. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Garrus wasn’t sure what he meant, to be perfectly frank, he was angry plain and simple. “I don’t want to see you,” he growled and walked away leaving them both behind. Both perplexed for different reasons.

“What the hell happened?” Sidda asked Isla who looked very bothered by what just happened. When she didn’t answer Sidda squared up to her, an aggressive posture, a Turian one. “Isla, tell me or I’m gonna go ask him and then there’ll be even more fireworks.”

Isla glared. So far she and Sidda had gotten along but Isla was less familiar with her than Garrus was and sometimes felt that Sidda was a bit much. Her attitude grated on occasion; of course she had the right to be a little angry at the world given the whole resurrection thing. “Lantar Sidonis, one of Garrus’ team, the Blue Suns figured out who he was, captured him, tortured him, and flipped him. That’s what happened to Garrus’ team, that’s how Garm nearly killed Garrus. He was able to slip away but by the time he got to the hole you found him in the attack was already finished and his crew was dead.”

“Jesus,” Sidda said and shook her head. “And you knew?”

Isla shrugged slightly. “I did but by the time I figured it out it was too late. I tried to call him but…I wound up walking into the same mess you did.”

Sidda sighed heavily, she didn’t want to jump in the middle of their spat but Garrus tended to overreact when he was mad. Most Turians did. “Alright. I’ll go talk to him. When Garrus gets mad he’s kind of a pain in the ass.”

Isla didn’t move, she blamed herself for what happened and not figuring out what happened sooner. She didn’t like Garrus thinking that she had a hand in death of his entire team and his harsh words hurt her feelings.

**

Garrus simmered in the Port Observation deck and Kasumi wisely gave him space, she didn’t even need to talk to him. The brimming anger was readily seen by anyone who looked at him. Sidda passed Kasumi and her look or warning made her snort.

The door opened and Sidda didn’t even miss a beat. “You wanna get your ass back in there and apologize to her?” she said her tone as blunt as possible. Garrus half turned and glared. “Oh don’t give me that look, Vakarian,” she added. “That woman ran into enemy fire to save you.”

Garrus scoffed. “And was a part of that reason why I was under enemy fire.”

“You don’t believe that. If you did you’d have taken her head off long before I got in that room,” she said brushing his anger aside.

That was a very observant point. “Lantar betrayed me. She betrayed me. Now get your nose out of my business.”

Wow, Garrus was beyond upset. This was officially worse than tracking down Crowe. “She said Sidonis didn’t have a choice. He was tortured into giving you up.”

Garrus closed the distance between them but remained out of arms reach. “You didn’t know Sidonis and I barely know her…I should never have brought her.”

Sidda shook her head. Nothing was more stubborn than a Turian. “Garrus, if you don’t get your head out of your ass I swear to God, limp or no limp, I’m gonna throw down with you right now,” she threatened and he stiffened his posture. The act reminded her of Cerrus. Now that she had his attention she decided to continue, her patience was absolutely gone for the day and she used her last ounce of it on him. “Now, I’ve have a really bad day Garrus, I mean a colossally fucked up really bad day. I lost a man, my crew is ready to munity, and the two people I thought I wouldn’t have to worry about are at each other’s throats. Now what do you need? Whatever it is I’m there for you.”

“Time. Isla said Sidonis escaped Omega and is on the run. When I find him I’m going to kill him,” he said his voice calm but a constant rumbling growl went with it. “I don’t care if you agree with me or not but I’d like your help with it when I know more.”

“100%, whatever you need,” she said and was satisfied with the calming of the storm. “Just do me a favor…we don’t have many friends you and I. Not many that are still breathing and not many that are still talking to us, I’d die for you and I know you’d do the same but one thing I’m realizing lately is that the best things are usually staring you right in the face the whole damn time. Don’t lose her…apologize you stubborn idiot.”

**

Sidda made her way through the Citadel to the café like her message said. She was actually very surprised to learn he was still on the Citadel and how quickly he’d responded to her message for a meet up. The last time she saw Nov was on a not so good reunion with Victus. Nov had kissed her, kissed her in front of everyone. It was decidedly not a show of affection that Turians usually used but Nov understood its meaning and showed it. It was embarrassing and toe curling all the same.

Nov was as distinctive a Turian as there ever was one; his bright red face was very unique. Honestly, she expected Victus’ reaction to her returning from the dead and part of her thought that she’d never see the members of that crew again. Nov had always been different. She found him leaning against the café bar with a drink in front of him. Nov stood at 6’7” and had a broad build but not as broad a Cerrus. She took in his appearance and smiled; tall and broad…just the way she liked them.

“Hey, Cal,” Sidda greeted, seeing him twirling his drink. “This is a surprise.”

“And why is that?” he asked he asked with a smirk.

Sidda shrugged and felt a little embarrassed. “Because the last time I was on the Lante it wasn’t really that much fun,” she said and he looked her up and down. “A grand resurrection from the dead after two years can only have one outcome.”

He knew what she was referring to. Victus ending it with her five minutes after seeing her still pissed him off. “No, it can have others,” he said and she blinked.

Sidda knew what he was getting at, she knew he liked her but the last thing that she wanted was getting attached to someone else with gravity of the mission looming over her. “Cal, I can’t-…”

“Sid, let me tell you something,” he said cutting her off and put both hands on her shoulders moving her over to the side and sat her down on the stool. “When Garrus told us about…what happened...Victus went…nuclear and turned Damar’s face inside out…and I-…”

“Tore the Rec Room in half…I know, Garrus told me,” she said and he dropped his head while sitting down in on the stool beside her. “Somewhere in the ballpark of 30,000 credits worth of damage.”

Nov sighed at the memory of him losing his damn mind. “32,481 credits to be precise….that came out of my pay.”

She had to smile to at his past display of insanity. “Well, it’s nice to know that I’m worth…32,481 credits,” she said and he took a drink of whatever it was he was drinking. It was meant as a joke but Nov didn’t see it that way. She was priceless.

“Sid, there is no price on you,” he replied and Sidda blushed from head to toe.

She looked away from him still blushing and started thinking about an active relationship with him. She had to admit she wondered about what it would be like with him but the rational side of her brain waved her off. “No, Cal…I can’t,” she said and stood. “This mission could end my life.”

Nov snorted. “Again, you mean,” he said and she scoffed at his joke. “Sidda, look…I came to the conclusion a while ago that I-…”

Sidda shook her head. “Don’t say it, Callus, please,” she said, it hurt enough losing Victus she didn’t want to lose anything else.

He ignored it. He wasn’t going to back away this time. “Sidda, I should have said this three years ago.” Nov said and Sidda didn’t want to hear that either. “I should never have let you walk off the ship without saying it, I should have told you before the drop to Rothla, and I should never have let Victus have you without a fight.”

“No, Cal, I died…,” she said and he could see she was starting to get upset about the topic. “I lost everything, everyone I knew moved on…Adrien moved on…and now…this mission will likely kill me. I can’t die and put anyone else through that, I can’t lose anyone else-…,” she babbled and Nov needed to stop the upset babbling train and leaned forward cupping her face in his hands kissing her.

His kiss was enough to clear her head and she settled down. This was the second time and it still felt right. He pulled back from her and felt this was going to go one of two ways: either he was going to get what he wanted or he was going to get his ass kicked. He prayed for the former. “Siddalee, the only way you’re gonna lose me is if you drop me down a black hole.”

Sidda laughed quietly and she was flushed the same color as his bright red facepaint. “I know,” she replied. “Alright, Cal,” she said and leaned forward giving him a short light kiss. “We’ll give it a shot.”

Nov resisted the urge to jump up and down screaming; instead he pressed his forehead to hers. He had her, he finally had her. “Dinner?”

Sidda smiled and felt her cheeks flush. “I’m starving.”

**

Garrus strolled through the revamped C-Sec Headquarters; they’d finished remodeling it and moved everyone over to the new set up sometime after he left. As he walked through he couldn’t help but notice just how much C-Sec had changed. He heard things as he passed, the use of force in interrogations ‘make them scream a little’…of course as soon as he left C-Sec the red tape got thinner.

He passed everyone earned a few looks from people who knew him. Quiet nods from some and smile and slap on the shoulder from others. Garrus quit in grand fashion and now he was back with half his face burned off. He shook the hands of one or two people until he found who he wanted. Chellick. Still a detective but of a higher grade, Chellick would have made an outstanding Executor…that was one of the reasons behind Garrus quitting. C-Sec brass went with a political option rather than the best man for the job. Garrus tapped on the door and Chellick blinked when he looked up. Then he stood up still blinking.

“Garrus?”

“Chellick.” He replied with a nod as he approached him to shake his hand, a firm wrist clasp between the two Turians.

“What happened to your face?” Chellick asked as he offered his former partner a seat.

“Omega.” Garrus answered and sat down. Omega was the one place that could be used as an apt description and Chellick shorted as he sat down in his own chair.

“Shepard’s back from the dead…and was looking for you.” He said and Garrus nodded quietly.

“She found me.” He replied. “She told me she found you…nearly had to peel you off the ceiling.” Garrus was chuckling and Chellick gave him and derisive snort.

“Yeah, it’s not everyday someone who’d been dead for two years shows up in your office like nothing ever happened.”

“I need your help, Chellick.” Garrus announced and Chellick leaned back in his seat. “I need to find someone, a Turian named Lantar Sedonis.”

Chellick’s expression narrowed. “You have the resources of a Spectre at your fingertips why do you need me?”

“Because Sidda’s been dead for two years and you have shady contacts everywhere. If anyone can find it’ll be you.” Garrus said and Chellick scoffed loudly.

“Garrus, I couldn’t find _you_ for ten months.” He commented and then sighed to the expression Garrus gave him. “Lantar Sedonis…last seen on Omega I take it?” Garrus nodded quietly as Chellick tapped it into his terminal. “Okay, I’ll take a look and see what I can find. There’s a Spectre I can ask…one in better standing than yours is. Give me some time.”

Garrus nodded thankful that Chellick was willing and able to help him. He stood and looked down at the Detective. “Thank you.” He said and lingered a moment. “You would have made an outstanding Executor.”

Chellick smiled to Garrus’ complement and watched him leave. He studied the name he was given and typed it in. “Okay, Lantar Sedonis, where are you?”

**

Dinner was at a restaurant that Sidda couldn’t say the name of but she saw all walks of life seated and enjoying meals. Most restaurants that wanted to make money in Zakera Ward had to cater to multiple species or move to one that was specific to one or two or less complicated than serving to Volus, Turian, Hanar, and Human.

“Why are you limping?” Nov asked as she sat down at their table in the restaurant.

“It’s a long story,” she replied as Nov sat down across from her.

“Could be a long dinner.”

Sidda laughed but she didn’t want to go into it over dinner. Right now she was in a good mood. “Mission went sideways. I lost a man.”

Nov didn’t say anything right away as she started to flip through the menu. “Sorry,” he said and didn’t press further.

“What’s good here?” she asked also changing the topic.

“Everything. It’s the best place on the Citadel,” he answered as he set his down knowing what he wanted to order and waited patiently for her. Zakera Ward was the most diverse of the Wards so it was a better dating site for a mixed couple.

After a few minutes the orders were sorted out and simple chit chat filled the time. He was just happy to have her. “So, I didn’t see Deliah or Rekka the other day?” she asked as the server brought their orders.

Nov dug into his plate of meat and gave the swift answer. “Desala’s on leave. Palaven, three weeks…and Deliah transferred out.”

Sidda paused from cutting up the reasonable facsimile of Chicken Parmesan. Deliah transferred off the _Lante_. That was a surprise though she couldn’t blame her, losing Nihlus hit her hard. “You’re kidding. When?”

Nov was like a man on a mission, he didn’t look up from his plate. “Little over a year ago.”

“Wow…back to Blackwatch?”

Nov shook his head sharply and looked up at her. “Nah. The _Defiant_ last I heard.”

“Jesus, does that leave anyone for the teams? You and Cerrus commanding the teams, members are getting pretty slim.” Nov looked away like he was hiding something.

He took a moment before responding. “Just leaves Cerrus. I’m not on the _Lante_ anymore.”

Sidda was shocked to his statement. “What?” she asked dropping her fork.

Nov nearly chuckled at the flustered appearance that overcame her when the fork hit the plate and drew the attention. “I’m off the ship. I…uhh…I had a major blowout with Victus.”

“About what?” she asked leaning forward on the table.

“You.”

She rolled her eyes and grumbled. So far since she came back all she’d heard was how bad things were without her, how things went so bad, how divided people became. It wasn’t her fault…all she did was die. “Oh goddamnit. Am I responsible for everything that went wrong?”

Nov stopped eating and leaned back. “He hurt you. I didn’t like the way he treated you so I told him what I thought. He kicked me off the ship.”

Sidda downed the glass full of wine. “Cal, damnit…”

“I was off the ship anyway, Sid, just a few weeks early,” he clarified and decided to add a little more to it. She went back to eating and he swallowed before continuing. “I’m mustering out.”

She froze and blinked a few times looking at him. He didn’t hold her gaze and concentrated on his food. “Are you kidding? You’ve been in the military what…”

 _“Since I was able to run away from home,”_ he thought but decided to go with the least amount of daddy issues. “Since I was 15, boot camp; Black Ops posting straight out of OCS.”

Nov out of the military…that was a surprise, she couldn’t imagine him doing anything else. Nov as a civilian was a completely foreign concept. “So what are you going to do?”

Nov shrugged. “I’ll figure something out.” That was a lie; he had a new job he just didn’t want to tell her just yet.

“Cal,” she asked suspiciously and he chuckled.

“I’m good, Sid. I’m a highly trained Combat Engineer, believe me, I won’t sit on the shelf long,” he replied with a grin. “Or ever,” he added in his head.

**

After dinner they walked, bit of a pain in the ass, or leg as it were, for Sidda but Nov went slow so he could match her pace. He offered a cab about a dozen times but she declined it. As they walked she went into a bit more detail about the mission, losing a man, and the rest of this traveling roadshow.

“Have you talked to your mom yet?” he asked and she shook her head quickly.

“Oh, hell no, I’m trying to avoid that,” she replied letting out a long sigh.

“Why?”

She was scared to. That was the bottom line. “I’m not going to tell her I’m back from the grave when this mission could put me right back in it,” she said and Nov could see her point. “Besides, look what telling you guys did for my social life.”

Nov gave her a slight smile and reached down with his right hand taking her left in his. “Not all of us reacted the way Victus did,” he said and Sidda felt the damn blush creeping back up, it could have been his kind words, intentions, or just that he was holding her hand. “I met your mom…she’d want to know.”

She stood closer to him as they kept walking. “I know,” she replied and she thought about something else he said. “Wait, when did you meet my mom?”

“Your funeral on _Arcturus_ , you look like her.” He answered.

“How many on the _Lante_ went to the funeral?”

“Victus, me, Ruvvak, Cerrus.”

“Cerrus? Of course… that asshole would see me off for good riddance,” she joked.

Nov laughed too. “I think he was there mostly because Tali went.” The truth was Cerrus had gone of his own volition to pay his respects, as much as he fought her and hissed at her the mission to catch Saren brought them to an understanding. For Cerrus she earned his professional respect. “You should call your mom.”

After a few more minutes of walking Nov stopped at an apartment door and Sidda glanced around her. She didn’t realize they’d walked so far and now she was confused. “Where are we now?” she asked and Nov punched a code into the doors lock.

“My place,” he answered and Sidda balked as the door opened. Nov saw it and snorted lightly gesturing for her to walk first. “I’ll be a perfect gentleman I promise,” he grinned. Sidda eyed him playfully not sure if she believed him but she walked in anyway looking around at the enormous apartment. It stuck her as strange that he actually had an apartment and not one of the short term tiny ass ones. This was the bigger luxury ones that usually needed a decent pay grade to go with it.

“So…you have an apartment on the Citadel, you are no longer on the Lante, and you say you’re mustering out,” she said trying to put the pieces together as he tapped a few buttons on the counter telling the apartment to do something that wasn’t seen. “You already have a job, damn it, what are you up to?”

He chuckled shaking his head. “You hate not knowing don’t you,” he said and she gave him a glare that didn’t have any heat behind it. “You want a drink?”

“Nah, I’m good.” Sidda stepped to a table with some nick-knacks on it. There was a knife she recognized as his family one and a picture of her and Nov. She picked up the image and blinked. “Oh my God, I remember when this was taken…Turians showed me how to throw a birthday party.”

Nov’s pace slowed for a moment as he joined her. “That was a hell of a night,” he commented not really sure of anything else to say. He watched her carefully, making sure she wasn’t uncomfortable with his little shrine. Not really a shrine, it was a knife and a picture but he didn’t want her weirded out.

She set the image down and picked up the knife. “The knife that caused a lot of problems,” she said. It was still beautiful, the engraving, the sigil markings. It was an old blade and Nov had tried to give it to her twice. “I never understood why you wanted me to have this.”

“Because I love you,” he answered simply. He was keeping with his earlier notion to be honest with her and not let her slip away this time. “I always have. Victus was right to be angry when I gave that to you. And you are absolutely worth fighting for.”

Sidda couldn’t help but smile. Every girl wanted to hear things like that. He loved her, she could see that, and she had no idea how she totally missed that in the past. He didn’t fight for her before because of his personal code to not steal someone else’s mate, intentionally anyway, but now he had a second chance and wasn’t going to waste it. She stepped toward him until she was close enough for her raise to her tip toes and kiss him. Nov’s enormous 6’7” height was a barrier and he leaned down. This time she kissed him and he wrapped his arms around her. She gasped as he dropped his mouth to the right side of her neck and felt him rake his teeth against her flesh. The sensation was euphoric but she gently pushed back from him.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized, too far too fast. When he looked at her he didn’t see her upset he saw her smiling and felt her right hand on his cheek.

“Don’t apologize,” she said sweetly. “Just not yet. I don’t sleep with guys on the first date.”

Nov’s nerves began to dissipate and he laughed at her joke. He pressed his forehead to hers. “If you want to go back to the Normandy I can call you a cab but you’re more than welcome to stay here. You can have the bed… I can sleep on the couch.”

Nov was a running mystery, all Sidda had ever heard of was how smooth on operator he was but with what he was showing now it was a mystery on how he was still single. From what she knew he spent the better part of two years in love with her but never let it become an issue or even tell her and now that he had her he displayed admirable restraint. He didn’t push or pressure. He was public with his confession but he moved at her pace. “I think I’ll take that drink.”  
Nov smiled and stood up straight. “As you wish.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was there flirting between Sidda and Thane? Yes, yes there was. Why? Because I couldn't help myself. I love Thane.


	41. What About the Grey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry about the long wait. I got so stuck in the middle here. Thank you to all the kudos and comments. The Feedback is very much welcome.

Mass Effect  
"Foreign Relations"

 

Chapter Forty One: What About the Grey

 

Nov startled awake and groaned to the crick in his neck from the couch. Sidda had been encircled in his arms but now she was gone. How the hell did she get out without waking him? "Sid?" he asked in a dry voice, cleared his throat and tried again. "Sid?"

His shoulder ached, the doctors said he seamlessly healed but that was a lie. It functioned seamlessly but if he laid on it too long it became sore. He sat up and rubbed it in an attempt to loosen it up but still didn't see Sidda. She had fallen asleep on the couch with him some time last night. He noted that her boots were gone and the knife was gone too. Sidda had set it on the table and now it was gone.

Nov smiled to himself, he told her that it had always been hers. "She's mine." He smiled to himself and flopped back down on the couch but the opposite side.

The Rodam Expeditions owner, Etarn Tiron, was generally pleasant to her, once he figured out that she was Commander Shepard that is and he even gave her a deep discount. The Council may have screwed her but at least saving their sorry asses paid off a little. Tiron gave her a strange expression when he saw the Turian knife she was trying to figure out how to carry. Too big to carry up a gauntlet so she was looking for alternative places.

Sidda's comm chirped and she glanced down at the code. It was Nov's code and she smiled. "Miss me already?" she asked after tapping it quickly.

She heard Nov's chuckle. _"I just have one question: how the hell did you sneak out?"_

Sidda had a lot of practice with Victus. He held her just the way that Nov did, trapping her in a protective embrace. "You're not the first Turian I've slept with." She replied and heard him groan. The comment got her a strange look from Tiron but she ignored it with a slight smile.

Most would have sneered to the crass comment but Nov didn't take any offense. She was able to joke about but it didn't mean she was over Victus. _"So you practiced first."_ He joked and she chuckled.

She played along loving Nov's sense of humor. "You discovered my master plan, Callus, congratulations." She giggled.

She could hear him chuckling on the other end. _"Did you ship out yet?"_ he asked and Sidda chuckled.

Tiron handed her a boot sheath for the knife and she quietly thanked him. The Turian still had a strange expression on his face watching a human try settle the old Talon into the position of a boot knife. "That's two questions."

Nov laughed. _"Do I need to hang up and call back?"_

"No, but I believe you'd do that." She chuckled, enjoying the teasing. Again, Tiron gave her a strange look. Human and Turian couples weren't common but they'd become more of a sight over the past year or two and it was obvious she was talking to a Turian, probably the Turian who owned the knife.

_"So, what, are you going to tell me when you're taking off or do I have to come down there and pester you."_

"Couple hours." She replied with a smile and tested the knife in the sheath on her right leg. It felt loose, it'd probably fit better with her armor on. "But you can come down and pester anyway."

_"Got any cute Asari onboard?"_

Sidda adjusted the straps again but it was still a bit loose without the armor. "I got a Justicar you might like."

 _"No thanks."_ He said with a snort. _"I do not mess with the Justicars. I'll drop by before you're ready to take off. Have some things to do beforehand."_

"For your mystery job?"

Nov snorted with a smile, she hated no knowing what his new job was but she'd love it when she did find out. _"I'll see you later, Sidda."_

"Bye, Cal." She giggled. It did occur to her that she sounded like a little school girl with a crush but Nov tended to bring that out in her. "I'll take this one." She said to Tiron nodded. Human and Turian couples were…strange.

**

Sidda leaned on the railing as the _Normandy_ prepared to depart; she wasn't looking forward to going back out with a crew that thought she hung one of theirs out to dry. Her merry band of misfits part two trickled by with bags and boxes of stuff.

Tali passed with a few bags from the shops she visited. The Citadel didn't have much in the way for Quarians but it had everything for Turians. She desperately needed dextro drinks, food, some anti-bacterial soaps, and a few other things that Cerberus didn't stock on a human ship. "Shepard." She greeted with her usual cheery tone.

Sidda fiddled with the knife, the old Talon had a perfect balance to it but it was too big to go where she usually carried a knife, in her gauntlet. For that reason she bought a sheath for her boot, she wasn't sure it if would work but she'd give it a whirl. "Hey," she greeted and noticed all the bags. "good shopping spree?"

Tali giggled. "The _Normandy_ is a magnificent ship but it lacks something for the dextros." She said setting the bags down to talk to her friend. "That's a Turian knife isn't it?" she asked. "Tyr has a few like it...not quite like that one." Sidda passed it to the Quarian who handled it with care. "It's old."

"Cal's knife. Apparently it was his fathers."

"It's beautiful."

"He gave it to me as a birthday present while I was on the _Lante_. I gave it back. He tried to give it to me again…I gave it back again." She explained and Tali passed it back to her.

"But you have it now?" Tali said. "Does that mean you and Cal…"

"I'm giving it a try…things did not go well with Adrien."

"I heard. I'm sorry, Sidda." Sidda waived the apology off.

"Hey you." A Turian voice greeted and she looked over her shoulder to see Nov.

"Hi." She blushed and stood up straight.

"Tali," Nov greeted the little Quarian. "a pleasure as always."

"Captain Nov." She smiled and nodded to him. Nov had always flirted with her but after she and Cerrus became official Nov stopped. Nov may have been a pathological flirt but he wasn't stupid, he respected Cerrus and conducted himself with honor.

"Cal. Please." He replied with a slight drone in his voice. He'd only asked her to call him by his first name a hundred times.

"Right. Sorry." Tali nodded to him and collected up her bags. "It was good to see you again."

"Take a headcount for me, Tali." Sidda called after her and the Quarian shouted her back her reply.

Nov watched her go. He really did like Tali, Cerrus was a lucky man but Nov loved Sidda…plain and simple. "So where are you heading?" he asked returning his attention to Sidda.

The little human giggled in response. "Back to my kingdom of exile."

Nov stifled a laugh. "Stop pissing off the Council and you may get to play in more exotic places." He advised and Sidda snorted.

She shook her head. Nov had the innate ability to make her laugh no matter what. "It's a natural state, I can't help it."

A new sound whirred from the _Normandy_ , preparing for departure. "Just watch your back out there, okay." Sidda smiled, still blushing and stood on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss. Nov purred his approval. "You smell like me." He commented quietly sounding proud and satisfied with that.

"Which means I need a shower." She quipped back.

"Ouch…" he hissed playfully as Sidda chuckled. "Why are you so mean to me?"

"What? Big handsome, strapping, Turian badass like you can handle it." She replied teasing him relentlessly.

"Hmmm." Nov purred again pulling her body to his with his right hand. "I like it when you're feisty." Teasing each other was like a breath of fresh air. Nov was a blast to tease and banter with and now with the obvious sexual tension it was even more fun. "Let me know when you get back."

**

Garrus hovered over the weapons bench with his visor in one hand and a soldering iron in the other. He wasn't fixing his visor or soldering anything to it he was actually in the middle of scouring a name off. A few days after he was plucked off Omega he honored those he lost by etching their names into his visor. Now he was removing Sidonis' with a growl.

The smell of coffee cut through the smell of the soldering and he turned his head to find it. It was Isla, he hadn't talked to her in a few days and felt both anger and shame for talking to her the way he did. "Coffee?" she asked and he nodded quietly. "Garrus, I should ha-…"

He put the soldering gun down and cut her off. "Isla…stop," he said firmly. "It's me who needs to apologize." He grabbed her hand to pull her closer to him. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that."

"I should have told you when we got off Omega," she said and Garrus squeezed her hand. "He really didn't have a choice, Garrus, they would have killed him if he didn't and from what I saw they tortured him bad."

Garrus stood and walked a few feet away. "That explains why he's vanished."

"He's scared," she said. "He knows that if you survived the attack you wouldn't stop until you find him. He's hiding, on the run, probably changed his name."

"Chellick will find him," he said softly. "Chellick can find anyone."

**

Sidda hadn't seen this much combat in years, not even on the _Lante_ or chasing Saren across the galaxy. The Terminus was a mess, a hot bed of illegal activity with everything from criminals to mercenaries, sometimes in the same organization. Right now the Blood Pack was her current headache. System after system, planet after planet, Sidda and company shut down the Blood Pack and their shady activities. It wouldn't last forever but she at least knew that for a while she'd thinned the merc pack in the Terminus. With all the back to back work and no news from the Illusive Man about the Omega 4 Relay she'd figured her crew out.

Losing Jacob caused a little bit of a divide among the crew, most believed that it was an accident but not all believed that Sidda did everything she could to prevent it. Samara also caught a lot of the heat as well, she was the person who'd been paired with him and had allowed him to go back on his own. The Justicar accepted the responsibility for it and vowed to never let something like that happen again. Aside from a 'holier than thou' attitude Sidda didn't mind her. Samara did her job and did it well. She was a very good leader and even the Cerberus crew respected her.

Miranda was still a problem but had realized that Sidda didn't kill Jacob, it was still ice cold between them though and that wasn't going to change soon. Sidda already knew that she worked well with Garrus and Tali. Isla was very versatile as well and with her mercenary background, like Zaeed, she was a wealth of information. She was also a qualified pilot for the Kodiak. Certain teams were more effective than others, however. Sidda was able to work with everyone on board, even Miranda, and aside from Garrus and Tali she worked the best with Thane. The assassin rivaled Garrus with sharpshooting and he was a team player. Zaeed was another one she worked well with despite his attitude that could only be described as a 'jackass'. Grunt, Kasumi, and Isla were the second most devastating team she could put together. Samara, Jack, and Sidda were a biotic death squad…they walked into a Blood Pack stronghold and destroyed it and anyone that was there.

Sidda, Isla, and Kasumi had just returned along with Zaeed from the planet Daratar to collect a 'reward' from Aria. Aria did warn them that it was going to be a bit of a mess so Sidda went in force. It wasn't perfect and probably could have been prettier but they got a lot of weapons from the cache.

"Not that I didn't enjoy the awesome cache of illegal weapons we made off with but next time can we do without the army of YMIR mechs?" Kasumi asked as they deposited weapons into lockers. Isla had taken over manning the armory since Jacob's unfortunate demise.

"I'll be sure to mention that to Aria," Sidda replied dryly as she stowed her Mattock, Carnifex, and Arch Projector. "All go no quit for nearly a week straight…we've had to have made some kind of dent in the merc population out here."

"Don't bet on it," Zaeed said as he began to strip down the Incisor that jammed at the wrong time against the YMIR. The Mattock took care of it but the weapon just jammed. "This is the Terminus, Shepard."

"Joy," he replied ruefully.

 _"Sidda,"_ Garrus' voice cut through the comm. _"I need to talk to you as soon as possible."_

"No rest for the wicked," she sighed. "On my way, Garrus. Isla, Zaeed, when y'all are done make sure the stuff in the cargo hold gets squared away. At the very least we walked away with lots of goodies…gonna have a hell of an arsenal by the time we're done."

Sidda was still in her armor when she headed for Garrus' haunt in the forward battery. At least he wasn't constantly tweaking the Mako but instead he'd calibrated the _Normandy's_ weapons to within an inch of its life. She had a feeling that she'd appreciate that later. It did appear that he'd apologized to Isla. Sidda enjoyed watching them together. She'd never seen Garrus act the way he did when he was around her.

Garrus was pacing when she entered the battery. "Oh this does not look good. What happened?"

"Chellick found him, Sid. He _found_ him," Garrus blurted but recanted his statement a second later. It felt good to just say that he'd been found even if it wasn't entirely accurate. "Or rather he found where he'd been, there's a forger on the Citadel named Fade good at making people disappear. If we get to him we can find Sidonis."

Sidda wasn't sure if she liked where Garrus' mind was. He wanted revenge, plain and simple, but that wasn't really Garrus. The past two years had changed him dramatically. "What do you plan on doing when you find him?"

"I'm going to kill him, Sidda," he snarled harshly and she could see the fire in his eyes. "He sold me out and ten people died because of it."

Sidda didn't think it was that simple and at the risk of him blowing a gasket again she reminded him of that. "Garrus, don't you think there might be more to what happened?"

Garrus growled in barely contained frustration. "Commander, you don't have to agree with me but I want your help."

Sidda didn't want to fight with him; he was as stubborn as they came and she raised her hands. "Alright, alright, alright…I'll be there…we'll go now."

**

"I swear I see more of you now than I did when you worked here," Chellick droned to Garrus seeing Garrus and Sidda make their way into his office.

Garrus wasn't in the mood for jokes, which was a red flag to Sidda and to Chellick. "Just tell me what you found."

Chellick's nod was sharp and he shuffled through the pads on his desk. "Forger named Fade…no one's quite sure who he is besides a pain in the ass. Captain Bailey's been having trouble finding him for almost a year now. Major thorn in the Network Division's side."

"But you found Sidonis?"

Chellick shrugged. "Some contacts said they saw a Turian matching your description of Sidonis trying to figure out how to disappear. Fade's name was mentioned. I've got an off duty Spectre looking into it, meet him in the warehouse district on 27."

Sidda cocked her head. "Off duty Spectre?"

"Yeah, he's new. People don't know him…never see him coming."

Sidda's brow furrowed a new Spectre or one that wasn't assigned to the Citadel. Before she could ask Garrus was already leaving.

They'd collected Isla on the way down and Garrus was a simmering silence that made both Sidda and Isla exchange looks. At least Sidda knew that she wasn't the only one worried about his behavior. This time Sidda didn't have a big ass Turian with an equally bad attitude to tackle him when he got out of hand.

"I've already wrecked one end of the Citadel… let's see if I can wreck the rest," Sidda muttered as they approached the warehouse that Garrus seemed to know. Chellick had mentioned a warehouse and Garrus went straight to it.

As they approached the warehouse they noticed a Turian waiting out front by some stacked crates. The Turian was familiar, very familiar. Nov leaned against the crate by the warehouse entrance. He was in full black armor and looked like he was ready for some action.

"Who's that?" Isla asked and Garrus grumbled.

Garrus' eyes narrowed. "What is he doing here?" Garrus asked and Sidda honestly didn't have a clue.

"You're asking me?" she replied. "I came with you. Cal, what are you doing here?"

Nov stood up straight. "Detective Chellick said you needed help."

Sidda and Garrus looked at each other then back to him. "Chellick said we were supposed to meet up-…"

"With the Spectre who was helping him," Nov finished. "Surprise, I'm the Spectre."

Sidda blinked several times. "You're a Spectre?" the shock in her voice was undeniable. _This_ was the new job he had and didn't tell her. Him. Callus Nov, a fucking Spectre. "I don't fucking believe this." She wasn't upset he was a Spectre, not at all, Nov was the best Combat Engineer she'd ever seen and an extremely experienced operative.

Garrus was irritable and focused. "We don't need another body, Sid, we can handle it." Garrus said and Sidda huffed.

Sending Nov packing was a bad idea and she knew it. "Withholding employment information from me not withstanding he's the best Combat Engineer on the station." By her tone Nov knew that Sidda was going to chastise him for not telling her sooner later.

"And a Spectre in better standing than her," he put in.

Sidda had to agree with that, any Spectre was in better standing than her right now…working with a terrorist organization and all. "We could definitely use him."

Garrus nodded after a moment, Nov was highly experienced but he didn't know him as well as he knew Maridus. "Fine. Nov, Isla. Isla, Nov."

Isla looked the other Turian up and down. He was taller than Garrus, had amber eyes, skin that was a shade darker than Garrus', and striking bright red mask for markings. They regarded each other as Garrus moved to the door.

Nov saw Sidda's glare as she didn't say anything. "Sid, this was not how I intended for you to find out," he tried to explain and Sidda turned toward him.

She wasn't mad that he was a Spectre, she was actually quite proud. He didn't tell her and he obviously knew about it, that's what had her miffed. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because technically I'm still Captain Callus Nov, Turian Special Forces and I haven't officially been inducted yet."

Sidda made a face to his reasoning. "And for that you didn't say anything? Come on, Cal." She stopped him and turned to face him as Isla and Garrus continued walking.

"I wanted it to be a surprise, Sid. Why are you pissed? You think you're the only one who can be a Spectre?"

"Of course not and I'm not mad. I just have had plenty of 'surprises' tossed at me lately I don't really need another one. All you need to be is honest." Nov blinked, he couldn't figure out why she was mad at him.

"Can you two talk about this later?" Garrus cut it earning him a glare from Nov.

"I'm sorry, Sidda," Nov said and patted her shoulder moving down the hall towards the rest.

Sidda felt like a heel, she wasn't mad but that's what she sounded like.

They were met by two Krogan, mercenaries if there armor markings were anything to go by. Garrus examined the threat factor in the room, two Krogan were manageable for himself, Isla, Sidda, and Nov. "We're looking for Fade," Garrus announced.

The two Krogan were vigilant but looked to someone else, probably Fade, that Garrus couldn't see. What appeared was defiantly not what any of them had expected. A Volus strutted out like he owned the place.

Nov cocked his head. Salarian, Turian, Human, Asari, hell even a Krogan he would have expected but a Volus. "Well…that was…anticlimactic."

"You're Fade?" Isla asked as she and Garrus had the same feeling. She didn't believe it and neither did he.

"I understand you'd like to disappear?" the Volus stated and Garrus didn't care that the contact happened to be a Volus. If they couldn't point him to his quarry he didn't care.

"Actually, I'm more interested in you making someone reappear," Garrus growled and the Volus realized this wasn't just another client.

"That's not the service we provide," he replied and then panicked. "Wait. Who are you? Nevermind. Shoot them! Shoot them!" he shouted to the Krogan bodyguards. Contrary to popular belief, Krogan were not stupid and took stock of the situation. A Blue Suns merc, a Human in N7 armor, and two Turians from god knows where in top of the line armor. They weren't being paid enough for that.

"Why don't you guys go find somewhere else to skulk?" Garrus growled to the Krogan mercs. They left and Sidda drew her Carnifex aiming it at the Volus who ass was left hanging in the breeze with the departure of his guards.

"Now over to you," she began and the Volus folded.

"I'm not Fade…I work for him," he corrected quickly. Sidda and Garrus looked at each other and she could have sworn that the Turian was actually having fun right now.

**

The prefab foundry Garrus knew was a front for a lot of shady operations so when they began to encounter Blue Suns he wasn't exactly shocked. They shot their way inside and then encountered a steadily worsening amount of resistance.

In the distance past the crates, machinery, and bad guys they heard a distinctive sound. "YMIR mechs…really?" Nov questioned talking to Sidda.

"Apparently," she replied as they moved up further into the foundry.

"You don't want to be here you can wait outside," Garrus snapped in reply to Nov and the other Turian looked at him with a glare.

Nov tapped his Omni-tool setting it up for the type of combat he was calculating they would be in. "You're being an asshole," he bitched and Sidda grumbled.

"Guys, I'm not kidding, I'll turn this manhunt right around if you don't knock it off," she snapped as they scattered to meet the attack. "Now play nice."

Garrus understood completely the usefulness of Nov. Sidda was right to bring him along. Nov's technical ability alone rendered several mechs and enemy weapons useless giving the rest time to pick them off cleanly. The foundry was a pain in the ass, too many doors and corners and it was crawling with bad guys.

"LOKI Mechs, FENRIS Mechs, YIMR Mechs, and Blue Suns! Who the hell is this guy?" Nov shouted while furiously tapping on his omni-tool. The combination of mechs and mercs obliterated his shields to the point he needed to seek cover.

"Someone who is terrified of me," Garrus replied and was more than a little satisfied about that.

His omni-tool beeped at him. "Remind me never to piss you off, Vakarian."

"Do you ever shut up?" Isla snapped.

Sidda was growing irritated, Garrus was annoyed, Isla had a temper, and Nov was extremely good at pushing buttons. "Think you guys can shut up and actually hit something for a change?"

Nov snorted. "I don't think your girlfriend likes me, Vakarian."

"Can't imagine why," Garrus snarked as Sidda and Isla gave each other a look. If the Blue Suns didn't kill the Bickering Bickerson's one of them would and the expression they wore was the same.

The fact that Isla wore Blue Suns colors made for some fairly interesting encounters. At one point she had the Blue Suns shooting at each other and confused some of the mechs enough that they didn't target her since they thought she was a friendly. Sidda took back the pushing to get her new armor. The misdirection was extremely useful.

Watching Nov in action was like a guilty pleasure. It took her death and flat rejection by Victus to make her look at him in anyway other than a friend. Now, she wasn't sure if she could look at him as anything else. Was he her boyfriend now? Her lover? This wasn't the time to be having these thoughts but she was. Here, now, in a firefight she was contemplating her relationship with Callus Nov and why she hadn't contemplated it before.

"Hey!" Isla called snapping Sidda from an apparent daydream. She wasn't daydreaming she just wasn't listening after the Blue Suns sentinel fell. "You with us?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here," Sidda griped. "Cal, get the door."

Nov was already in the process of hacking the terminal leaving Garrus and Isla pillaged to the office checkpoint. Ammo, money, components, interesting things they could grab on the way out were all there for the taking. The terminal beeped and the heavy door opened.

Isla wasn't sure what to make of the Turian who talked too much. It was clear that he and Sidda had a history, Garrus knew him and either his mood made him grumpy or he didn't like him, she wasn't sure which, but she had to admit he was good with Tech. "Damn, you're good."

Nov grinned. "I'm not good, I'm great. Isn't that right, Sid?"

He was full of himself, always had been. Garrus groaned, Isla rolled her eyes, and Sidda scoffed. "Mother of God."

They were getting closer, more mechs, more mercs, and more obstacles. Harkin was running for his life and throwing his entire arsenal at them. There were no more light troopers, everything they fought now were engineers, sentinels, centurions, vanguards, and mechs, heavy hitters no matter who you asked. Garrus never switched to his rifle. Each person he'd worked with some way or another. Sidda was a mid-range fighter, her biotics were an absolute equalizer and it was clear to see why she'd held Elysium all by her little old lonesome. Isla liked the short range but loved her proximity mines. Nov was the jack of all trades, while he preferred ranged combat he could step up and fight in the middle of it like a vanguard would. Garrus learned that when working with Sidda he was to stay back and pick them off from a distance. He never missed and no one ever got close to him.

"More mechs," Nov called as they jumped down off the platform that they now needed to jump back on.

Garrus grunted. "Just one YIMR. I'm not losing Harkin!" his focus was beginning to grate on Nov. Determined Turians were, in a word, irritating.

"Just one he says," Nov griped as he reloaded then heard a separate sound indicating there were more than one out there…hell, more than two. "Well, now there's three of them, are you happy now?"

Sidda shook her head and she and Isla ducked into cover. Minuscule cover, but when up against three YIMR Mechs, it was cover none the less. "I don't know which ones are worse the bad guys or them." Sidda muttered.

Isla switched from the shotgun to the Mattock and turned the armor piercing rounds on. "They are…we can't shoot them," Isla grumbled and Sidda chuckled.

"Stick to the high ground. Don't go had to hand with them," Garrus shouted as he climbed up the highest point.

"You guys just be ready to shoot," Nov called and scurried into cover tapping his omni-tool more. Sidda knew he was resetting one of his tech powers and could guess which one. Sabotage. "Sid, Isla, try to cluster them." The girls complied and gave them something to target.

The benefit of the raised maze Harkin created to escape Garrus' wrath was that it helped trap the giant mechs on lower ground. "Cal, be careful!" Sidda shouted seeing Nov step around and let the powerful sabotage fly. He managed to hit all three of them and the mechs stopped cold as their systems glitched.

Garrus didn't need the order, as soon as the sabotage spread from one to the next to the next he opened fire. His first shot took the head off of one as Isla fired into the one next to it. Sidda put rapid fire rounds into the third one and all three mechs exploded at once damaging Isla's tech shields and bringing them down along with Sidda's.

"Glad you brought me along now, Garrus?" Nov gloated. He saw blood coming from Sidda's cheek. Even in cover the exploding mechs sent damaging shrapnel everywhere.

**

Getting Harkin to talk was easy, there was nothing like a pissed off Turian to get someone to talk and Garrus was extremely pissed off. He didn't kill Harkin but he did beat him pretty severely to get him to talk. The only reason Harkin wasn't dead was because of Sidda. She stopped Garrus from killing him…it didn't seem like a moral victory. Harkin was dirty and a bastard.

No matter what anyone said Garrus was determined to kill Sidonis, Isla was trying to talk him out of it and Sidda was worried about her friend. Garrus was a hot head but for the most part he was a good man. Not a murderer.

Isla keyed her comm off as she walked with Nov and Sidda. "I'm not going to let him shoot him," she said primarily to Sidda. "Garrus is blinded by anger and revenge but I know that Lantar wouldn't have betrayed him unless he was under extreme duress."

"If we get in his way Garrus is liable to shoot us too," Sidda reasoned as the three of them made their way toward Orbital Lounge.

"There he is," Isla pointed. The Turian looked nervous, Nov decided that. If he wasn't there mark then that was one guilty Turian. "Lantar."

The Turian jumped to his feet and nearly panicked when he saw Isla in her Blue Sun's armor. "Spirits! No. No. No. I told you people all I know."

"Lantar, calm down," she said firmly and made sure she staying in front of him. He turned to walk away and she grabbed his arm. "Hey, I am the only thing standing between you and bullet in your head."

"What?" he questioned and it occurred to him that Isla was Garrus' Blue Suns insider. "Wait. If you're here…where's Garrus?"

"Who do you think's behind the bullet?"

To Sidda, if Sidonis had been human he probably would have gone white as a sheet, instead she heard him curse. "Fuck."

 _"Isla, get out of the way,"_ Garrus ordered in their ear. She ignored it.

"Now's your chance to explain what happened, Lantar," she coaxed staying in her position to block Garrus' shot and opening the comm for Sidonis to hear as well. "I wasn't able to stop what happened to you. I wish I could have."

"They caught me…," Sidonis began. "I tried to resist. I didn't…I couldn't…they beat me, threatened me. I don't have much family but the ones that I do they found and threatened to kill."

 _"So he betrayed me instead,"_ Garrus hissed in her hear. _"Ask him about Afterlife. That Krogan would have beat him to death if I hadn't have stepped in. I don't care what he says, he screwed us. They all died because of him."_

"Garrus, look at him," Nov put in after observing his behavior. "He's suffering enough as it is."

Sidonis looked at the other Turian with them. "He's right. I don't sleep, food has no taste. All I can think of is Omega. What I did…what I didn't have in me to resist. Garrus saved my life and I didn't have the strength to resist the Blue Suns. I am so sorry, Garrus."

 _"Sorry is not going to bring them all back,"_ Garrus growled but deep down knew that Sidonis didn't willingly betray him. It didn't make it better knowing that someone he trusted broke under torture and gave him up but he understood that it wasn't something Sidonis did willingly. The fact that Isla still trusted him played a part in his reasoning. She understood better than most what Sidonis had probably gone through. _"Get out of here,"_ he said after a long minute of contemplation. _"Don't ever let me see you again."_

"Garrus," he began and paused trying to think of the right thing to say. "I swear. I'll do anything I can to make this right."

There a long silence on the comm. Garrus was probably still thinking about shooting him. _"Nothing you do will make it right."_ Garrus' tone was final.

**

Garrus was not someone to bother at the moment, although he relented and showed Sidonis mercy he was still angry. He'd come very close to the edge he was actually thankful for Sidda, Nov, and Isla to pull him back from the edge. He wasn't a murderer but he nearly was then.

He stowed his gear and hid himself away from everyone. All he could hear was Sidonis' voice so he threw himself into work. Either on his sniper rifle or on the Normandy's weapons array.

"Garrus," Isla said but he knew who had come through the door.

"What?" he asked with a flat tone.

"Are we okay?" she asked bluntly. Isla was a 'to the point person' and he knew that.

"You should have told me," he accused and Isla shrugged. She wanted to tell him but it was hard to pick the right time when you were running and gunning for your life but she understood his meaning.

"I know. I'm sorry." When he didn't turn to face her she sighed and turned away.

"Isla, wait," he said sharply putting his tools down and quickly catching her arm. "Everything for me is black and white. Rules. Right and wrong. Punishment," he explained. "I don't know what to do with grey." He put his left hand on her cheek and met her eyes. "Thank you for being there. For stopping me."

He kissed her and all his other problems seemed to melt away. He really did love her and was thankful every day that he tangled with her in that warehouse.

**

Sidda propped her feet onto the coffee table in Nov's living room and sighed tiredly. She'd taken a shower, changed, and had Chakwas look at the cut on her face on the _Normandy_ then made her way back to Nov's. She closed her eyes and relaxed into his couch.

"Beer?" Nov asked dangling the cold bottle in front of her over the back of the couch.

She smiled and opened her eyes to the sweating bottle he was holding in front of her. "Oh yes," she accepted.

He cracked the top off his own beer and sat down next to her. "Your crew always so needy?" he asked and she scoffed.

"Only when they need something," she muttered in reply making him laugh.

"How's your face?" he asked referring to the cut from mech debris.

Sidda shrugged as he tapped the control on the coffee table for the TV. "Just a scratch. What are you doing?"

"Bringing you up to speed on some of the vids you've missed," he said and she shook her head.

Joker had been trying to do that. "Just not the Hanar one."

"What, you don't want to watch Blasto the first Hanar Spectre?" he joked knowing full well she'd shoot the TV while watching that.

"My life is already a giant joke, I don't need to watch a Hanar give me a play by play," she replied taking a long swig of the beer. "I thought you were getting me dinner."

"It's on its way."

"What no cooking?"

"Are you gonna be this nitpicky about everything?" he asked and she chuckled. "Fleet and Flotilla?"

"God, no. Adrien made me watch that already. It was good but _long_." The door chimed indicating the food had arrived.

"You know, I really did want to surprise you with the whole Spectre thing. I wasn't trying to hide it from you," he explained on his return with the pizza for her and whatever else he ordered for himself.

"I know. I didn't mean to get all uppity with you about. You are the perfect choice for a Spectre, Cal, and I'm very proud of you." He nearly looked embarrassed as he sat down putting the food on the coffee table.

"Do you know who recommended it?" he asked and she shook her head.

"Nihlus."

Sidda paused and allowed a smile. Not only was Nihlus impressed by Sidda he was also impressed by Nov. "Good old, Nihlus."

Sometime during the movie Sidda lost all interest. She hadn't forgotten about her mid combat daydreaming about the Turian sitting quietly next to her. She sat up and straddle his lap much to his surprise. Sidda cupped his face with her hands and kissed him. Unlike Victus, the concept of kissing was not new to him. He'd learned to appreciate the soft, warm, wet lips so when Sidda gave him the very definition of a passionate kiss it wasn't a lost effort.

He felt her going for the fastener on his tunic and he ran his hands up her back getting a purr from her. She broke away from him with an irritated grumble to argue with his tunic's fastener and she heard a chuckle from him. This is what he'd wanted for years and his aggressive lover side took over. Hearing a growl from him the next thing she knew she was on her back. He kissed her neck knowing that it was a sensitive spot on Asari and apparently the same for a Human. She moaned under him as he drifted down to her clothes. Whereas, she was patient enough for his buttons and zippers he was not. As soon as the innocent clothing gave him a hint of resistance he gave it a yank. The black civilian attire didn't stand a chance against a sexually impatient Turian.

"I just bought that, Callus," she grouched hearing the fabric tear and he ran his tongue down the right side of her neck.

"I'll buy you more," he dismissed and gathered her up in one swift display of strength taking her to his bed.

**

Nov was pretty sure Sidda's screaming woke up the neighbors. He was actually surprised that no one called C-Sec thinking that he was killing Sidda. She was face down in the sheets and sleeping soundly. Her back and shoulders had several forming bruises both from his hands and his mouth. He felt a little guilty and responsible for that but he had always been a bit aggressive in bed. She was clearly marked for everyone to see with hickeys forming on her left jaw and left side of her neck not to mention the ones below the collar line.

Sidda woke up feeling better than she had in a while. Apparently sex was what was needed to clear her mind of all the crap going on. Between her apparent death, resurrection, shock of reality, and her personal life she needed a stress relief. Nov was a very good lover; by his reputation she expected nothing less. She stirred around in the bed but found that she was alone and Nov was nowhere to be found. She sat up and groaned, her whole body ached, in her mind she'd gone only a few months without sex but her 'new body' wasn't used to the size, strength, and Nov's apparently rambunctious behavior in bed. She could see forming bruises on her arms and further down on her hips and a red mark on her lower abdomen from one of his bites. She snorted at the rather overzealous behavior and had to wonder just how long he had been waiting for that. She stood and searched around for her clothes. Since Nov shredded her shirt she'd have to find a replacement but for now her bra and pants would suffice.

Nov saw the door to the bedroom open and stood up straight from the counter he was leaning. "Good morning," he greeted and looked back down at the news datapad he was reading.

"Cal," she replied with a sweet smile as she made her way over to him. Nov let out a growly purr as he looked her up and down, he loved the way she said his name. "That was fun," she said pleasantly and Nov tilted her head to right with his left hand.

"It shows," Satisfied with his handiwork.

Sidda narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Nov snorted. "You didn't notice?" he asked. "You are now unmistakably marked."

Sidda turned to the nearest reflective surface and saw the hickey on her jaw and the two on her neck. "Christ, Cal!" she exclaimed. "It's gonna take a ton of make up to cover all that up."

Nov shifted his weight from foot to foot, he didn't like that. He wanted people to know she was a Turian's mate. Mate may have been a little presumptuous but it was how he saw her. In his mind there was no other female, just her. "Please don't." he requested and she paused looking at him. Her expression told him that he needed to clarify a little. "You and Victus may have wanted to keep it under wraps but I don't."

Turians were territorial about their mates and she was certain that was how he looked at her. She moved between him and the counter rubbing her body onto his. "Okay," she accepted with a smile. Nov's eyes roved over her as he observed her breasts tucked away inside the bra.

 _"Sexy sight,"_ he thought to himself and a low purr escaped from him.

"Are you always like that in bed?" she asked placing her hands on his waist and pulling him toward her forcing more contact.

If Sidda didn't know any better his body language said he was almost a little embarrassed. "More or less," he replied a little sheepish. "I'm sorry if I was too rough."

Sidda giggled. "No. I liked it." And started to slowly unfasten his clothing.

The mix of her scent covered with his was starting to overtake him. "I liked you," he said and Sidda opened his shirt allowing her to run her hands over his exposed skin.

"Hmm…which part?" she flirted and kissed his chest. Nov purred, surprised that she was ready for another round. He was convinced that sometime during one of their sexcapades he'd hurt her but apparently, she was tougher than even he thought.

"All of you," he purred and reached down to the back of her thighs lifting her up on to the countertop and parting her legs with his body. She scooted toward him enough make solid contact with his body and ran her right hand up his left mandible. He closed his eyes at her touch and took in her scent. He may not have said it but that was his mate's scent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All you Nov/Sidda fans may now implode.  
> Music I listened to for that part: Put Your Lights On by Santana/Everlast and One Love by U2


	42. Project Overlord

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Overlord was one of my favorite DLCs...had to do it. :)

Mass Effect  
"Foreign Relations"

 

Chapter Forty Two: Project Overlord

 

The only person on the _Normandy_ that Sidda could say she was afraid of – or at lease leery of – was Zaeed. He was a mercenary, a ruthless one at that, and she had his undivided fury at the moment. Zorya was an enlightening experience. Zaeed's history was interesting and he'd survived a bullet point blank to the head. She'd forced Zaeed to give up on his need for revenge and let Vido escape. Had Samara not been there Sidda was certain she would have had to fight both Zaeed and Isla on that platform but she didn't. They both wanted Vido dead for different reasons.

"That's enough, Zaeed!" she barked to silence him. "You want revenge, I get it. I really do."

"You don't get a fucking thing! That man is a murderer, a rapist, and he tried to kill me," Zaeed snarled back.

"I know that, Zaeed, but I was not about to let all those people die just to satisfy your grudge."

Zaeed took a threatening step closer. No one else on the ship could make her flinch but Zaeed was damn close. She didn't want to fight him but if she did she wouldn't shoot to wound. Vido shot him in the head and he survived. "I was wrong about you," he growled. "Your reputation is fake. Just a pretty cunt who got lucky."

Sidda's teeth clenched. "One more word, Massani, and we can throw down right here," she replied in kind and he saw the faint blue glow and felt the negative pull of dark energy. "I know what I cost you and I will make it right. We found him once and I will find him again, on that I promise." She remained calm despite the danger she felt she was in. Zaeed was a very dangerous man. "Those are my term, if you don't like that I can take you back and drop you off on the rock I found you on."

Zaeed weighed his options. He'd end up having to fight the whole damn ship if he challenged her. She was his best option to find Vido again. He didn't say anything, didn't heel, didn't give in, he just growled and stormed out.

Once he'd left Sidda let out a breath and practically deflated. _"Are you alright, Shepard?"_ EDI asked and this was the one time Sidda didn't care that she had a voyeur.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied letting out another deep breath. "I am really glad I didn't have to fight him."

 _"That would not have happened, Commander, I would have implemented countermeasures to subdue Mr. Massani."_ The AI told her.

"Thank you, EDI."

_"You are welcome. There is a message from the Illusive Man marked as urgent, Commander."_

**

Sidda avoided the powder keg that was forming within the crew. Isla thus far didn't seem to blame her for letting Vido escape but Zaeed remained as pissy as ever. She ignored his attitude. Let him fumed quietly. Along with her mission to save the galaxy from galactic extinction she was once again relegated to the role of galactic cleaning crew just like she had been for Hackett. She spent most of her time destroying Cerberus cells.

Sidda met Nov at Dark Star as he had asked. She wasn't much into the club scene anymore but didn't mind it with Nov. "Hey," he greeted with a smile. She still had visible, albeit fading, marks from their first night together and he loved seeing that. "There's my girl."

"Hi, Cal."

"You want a drink?" he asked and she shook him off. She was pressed for time and when she was with him she tended to let time run away from her.

She had a practical reason. Yes, she didn't have much time, but also there was a track record. "Every time I go into a bar with you I get into a fight," she told him and he chuckled.

Nov could care less. Bar fights were fun…mostly. "You know that's when I fell in love with you."

She narrowed her eyes. "What?"

He remembered a good deal of what happened in Oblivion despite the epic hangover. "You took on bar full of Turians to save my drunk ass."

She scoffed. Her head hurt just thinking about that. "It was stupid, Cal, alcohol or military bravado, I don't know which was worse. And I didn't do it alone, I had Damar as backup."

He chuckled. "Stop trying to talk me out of it," he smiled. "You sure you don't want a drink?"

She shook her head again. "Nah, I actually don't have a lot of time. You think the Spectres can spare you for a bit? I'd like your help on something."

Nov nodded as he downed a shot. "Whether or not the Spectres can spare me, all you have to do is ask."

"Aww, you're sweet, Cal," she giggled.

"You need to get out more. Straight to business…not even a 'hi there, how are you'."

"Hi, Cal, how are you?"

"Wishing I could have you in my bed every night," he replied seeing her blush a deep shade of red. "Will you hurry up and destroy the collectors so I can have you every night?"

"Do you use that line on everyone?" she asked and he chuckled.

"Is it working?"

"Come with me and find out," she flirted. "On second thought, I think I will have a drink." She decided and stepped away from the table they were standing by. She bumped into a few Batarian by accident and apologized. "I'm sorry."

The two Batarians scoffed at her. "Humans are the scum of the galaxy," one grumped to his companion. "Everywhere you turn they skitter around like rats."

Sidda sighed letting the Batarian run through the typical insult. She wasn't looking for a fight but knew that Nov saw and heard the exchange. "Look, I said I'm sorry. I don't want to fight."

"You're the so called 'Hero of Elysium'…you killed a lot of my people that day…," the other one growled, his hostility clear and got closer to Sidda. Too close for Nov's comfort.

"Back off," Nov warned and the Batarian shot him an undeterred look.

Sidda sighed. "Is that the best you got? I've been trash talked by things way bigger than you," she snipped and the Batarian grabbed the front of her shirt yanking her towards him.

Nov was in action before anyone knew it and yanked the Batarian away from her with an angry, threatening growl. "Touch her again and I'll pull your eyes out through your asshole, got it?" he threatened and Sidda snorted at his colorful choice of phrases. "Now, back the hell off."

The Batarians were drunk but were not looking to tangle with him and Nov shoved him backward. He turned back to Sidda who was smiling with her head cocked to the right. "Wow, I got a knight in black armor…," she said wistfully. "I didn't really need the help but I do like watching you flex some of that muscle to defend me."

Nov smirked and moved toward her looking her up and down. "Glad you like it. Let's go before they come back."

**

Nov was flat out amazed by the _Normandy SR2_ , the first _Normandy_ was impressive but this one blew it away. "Wow, talk about an upgrade," he praised. "This is one beautiful ship."

Sidda smiled but felt the need to warn him. "Cal, just promise me you'll keep a lid on whatever you see."

Nov accepted the human phrase. "I've been special forces my entire adult life, Sid, I know the meaning of classified."

She nearly laughed. "I'm serious, Cal."

He cocked his head, curious now, as they stepped off the elevator to her quarters. "What the hell do you have on this ship?" he asked as she moved in and opened the door to her spacious quarters.

 _"Welcome aboard, Spectre Nov,"_ EDI said over the comm and the Turian froze, confused by what was addressing him. _"it is good to finally meet you in person."_

"And who would you be?" he asked and the icon for EDI appeared to his left.

"Cal, that's EDI, the Normandy's artificial intelligence."

Nov didn't hide his shock. He really couldn't "What?"

"EDI's an AI, fully self-aware, installed on this ship for this mission by Cerberus," she explained and Nov stood speechless. A thousand questions hit him but he couldn't think of a single one to ask.

"A Cerberus ship with aliens on it and an AI installed onboard…I must be dreaming."

_"You are not, Spectre Nov, I was very impressed with your skilsl and service record. I look forward to working with you."_

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, my service record? What the hell is Cerberus doing with my service record?"

 _"When compiling dossiers for this mission you and Maj. Cerrus were considered as potential recruits."_ The AI explained and Sidda blinked. She had no idea Nov and Cerrus has been considered but wasn't exactly shocked that they were not included in the end.

"And I suppose I didn't make the cut?"

_"Your status in the military at the time made you unavailable and given Maj. Cerrus' feelings towards Humans he was deemed to be unsympathetic and dismissed as a potential recruit."_

"Oh, he'll love hearing that," Nov snorted. He wasn't happy with Cerberus having his classified records and would bring that up with Sidda later.

"EDI, can you give us some privacy?" she asked.

_"Of course, Commander."_

Nov looked around her quarters, for a frigate, these quarters were huge. The SR2 was bigger than the first one but still far smaller than the Lante. "Living the life of luxury, huh, Sid?"

"This is what I wanted you to look at," she said and handed him the pad. "I know it's not much to go on but I saw the words experimental technology and, no offense to Tali, thought of you. You're the best engineer I've ever see in my life."

Nov smiled as he scanned over the pad. "You don't have to flatter me, you've already got me."

Sidda rolled her eyes. "If you're up for it…feel like playing around in a highly experimental super-secret Cerberus cell?"

"Wouldn't miss it."

**

Sidda gave Nov the grand tour and introduced him to those he didn't know. He found Isla again, seemingly in a little bit of better mood. He noticed a hickey peeking above the high collar of the tunic she was wearing. He smiled to himself and decided not to poke the bear with her. Garrus, yes, but she reminded him of Cerrus in several ways. He had to give it to Garrus, Isla was very pretty. She did show him the rifle they all used during the assault on the abandon foundry. The Mattock was, in a word, magnificent.

He sighted down a Mattock pulled tight to his shoulder and dry fired it. "Honey, can I have one?" he asked Sidda with a chuckle.

"Can we spare one, Isla?" Isla didn't mind Nov, he talked a lot but he was nice enough and he knew his weapons. She smiled at his enthusiasm and nodded.

"Yes, you can have one," Sidda grinned and he set the rifle back down on the table.

"I'll be back to mod that," he said to Isla who just snorted.

"You don't need to mod it," she said and he looked at her.

Sidda giggled. "Cal, you can stay and play if you want."

He shook his head. "No, I'll come with you."

"This is the Tech Lab…figured you'd want to play in here too," she waved a hand with a chuckle and Nov tapped a few things on the consoles. A few griped at him due to lack of clearance or access but he left them alone.

The Salarian ticked away at his console but gave them his attention when they approached him. "Ahh, Commander," Mordin began and he looked from her to Nov.

"Mordin, this is Callus Nov," she introduced. "Cal, Dr. Mordin Solus."

"Glad to meet you," Mordin replied. "Have heard of exploits, Capt. Nov. Understand you have significant technical skills."

Nov shrugged and Sidda seemed to beam with pride. "Cal here hacked his way through a secret Batarian base once."

"Yes, of course. The extraction of Spectre Kryik," Mordin nodded and Nov narrowed his eyes.

"STG," Sidda clarified. Nov could have guessed that. Mordin didn't seem like the cowardly, hyper active Salarians that were crawling on the Citadel. He had scars, and from what he judged, carried himself with confidence. "Well, we won't keep you, Mordin, just wanted Cal to meet everyone."

"Actually, Commander, wanted to talk…medical matter, pertinent for Capt. Nov to remain, aware that you have physical and sexual relationship. Recommend caution with Turian. Ingestion of dextro or amino material may cause anaphylaxis. Turian males also larger than Human in many respects, suggest you be gentle."

Nov blinked. The topic of conversation that taking them both by surprise. Sidda couldn't believe what she was hearing. Honestly, she thought he was joking but then she quickly realized he wasn't. "Uhh, Mordin, it's okay. He's not the first Turian I've had. I can handle it." As soon as the words left her mouth she couldn't believe she'd actually said that. How embarrassing.

Nov was having a very difficult time stifling a laugh.

"Oh," Mordin stammered, "impressive, Commander." Sidda wanted to punch him and Nov then go hide and never come out again.

Nov failed to stifle that one and a laugh escaped. Sidda was extremely uncomfortable but he was trying not to drop and roll on the floor laughing.

"Stop laughing," she ordered and he only laughed harder. "Are you kidding me, Mordin?"

"I would never, Commander." The Salarian sounded almost offended by the insinuation that he would use this as a joke. Sidda's face burned. "Chafing also common. Turian have tougher skin plates, against sensitive human flesh prolonged rubbing may cause discomfort. Suggest the shower, warm water will soften Turian plates and provide lubrication."

By this time Nov stopped trying to hide it. He doubled over laughing as Sidda's embarrassment deepened the color of her face. Sidda was beyond embarrassed and flustered. "You, stop laughing," she ordered again pointing at her Turian laughing Hyena. "Mordin, really, I appreciate the concern but I do know how to…have sex with a Turian." That sounded worse out in the open.

Mordin ignored Nov. To him this was all practical, as a physician and a scientist it was his duty. "Understood, still recommend keeping epinephrine on hand for accidental exposure. Will also have ointments and creams available for skin irritation or inevitable abrasions, Turians bite when they mate." This whole conversation was getting worse as it went along. "Advise you to be careful when biting, aware Turians like to bite the neck, erogenous zone on Human as well as Turian, Humans however have more vital components in the neck."

"Mordin, I am begging you, on my hands and knees, please…stop." She was mortified but Mordin was just being a scientist and a doctor. Nov was still laughing.

"Apologies if I made you uncomfortable, Commander. Please see me if you need anything more."

On the way out Sidda was certain she would never be able to look Mordin in the eye again. "Can we try the shower thing now?"

**

Aite was the picturesque garden world, a planet that was ripe for colonization. It was as close to Earth as you could get but with the added attraction of faint rings. The rub was that the planet was going to be destroyed in 200 years or so by its destabilizing moon. Other than that, Aite was beautiful.

Sidda picked Garrus and Tali to come along. When it came to Tech it never hurt to being others along. Garrus and Tali made an excellent team anyway.

"What is that?" Nov asked indicating a ground ship he had never seen before.

Sidda smiled, for all its shortcomings, she loved the Hammerhead. It was fast, maneuverable, powerful…but yes, it was made of glass. "M-44 Hammerhead. Not as tough as the Mako but it is definitely more my speed."

Dropping from the _Normandy_ in the Hammerhead was a lot like a Mako drop. The Hammerhead was a smoother ride and its thruster fire wasn't nearly as violent as the Mako's. The force was still felt but Nov loved the feel of a drop. Sidda put the Hammerhead squarely in the middle of the landing pad at the designated coordinates. It was a base that turned out of be one of many for what was called Project Overlord. The name was ominous enough to make Sidda unhappy and it got worse with the explanation of what was going on. Leave it to Cerberus to try to create a VI/Human Hybrid…and then let it get away from them.

The VI overwhelmed the human volunteer and took over any VI in the area including the mechs designed to protect the scientists. Instead they became the executioner…and there were Geth. Yes, Project Overlord was another Cerberus experiment that went ass up.

Sidda and her team cleared up Hermes Station, the communications center apparently, before the runaway VI used it to broadcast to the whole system. It was collectively agreed that that would be a horrible thing. From Hermes station Sidda piloted the Hammerhead to Vulcan Station, Overlord's geothermal plant. A little bit of lava hopping and a disheveled facility later Nov talked Sidda into letting him take a spin with the Hammerhead and declared Sidda the best girlfriend ever.

"Next target is Prometheus Station." Archer's information on this was vague. They knew it housed the Geth they were experimenting on.

"What's with these names?" Nov asked punching a few keys on the console. The Hammerhead was simple enough to figure out how to control.

Sidda situated herself in the gunner seat as the Hammerhead hummed smoothly through the valley. "In Greek mythology Hermes was the messenger of the gods. In Roman mythology, Vulcan was the god of fire and smithing."

"Well that fits," Tali commented, Vulcan station was definitely hot.

Nov spared his girlfriend a glance. "Dare I ask what Prometheus is?"

Ancient Earth history was something Sidda liked, she'd read books as a hobby when she was growing up and took electives while at the academy. "Prometheus was a Titan, stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity, for which he was severely punished."

Nov, as with everyone else, could see the parallels. "Can't say I like the sound of that."

"Just do what I do, Nov, expect the absolute worst on a mission with Sidda…that way you can only be surprised," Garrus put in and Sidda glared at him. He wasn't wrong but she still glared at him.

Much like the Mako, the Hammerhead a gunner seat and a mechanic seat. With Nov piloting, Sidda took the gunner seat and Tali the engineer station, while Garrus relaxed in the back. The Hammerhead was a smooth ride until it jolted forward like Nov hit the jets. The Hammerhead was easy to fly but something wasn't right. "Umm…uh oh," Nov muttered catching Sidda's attention.

"What?"

"I don't have control," he answered and tapped several keys to try and get a response from the flight controls.

Sidda gave him her full attention but was just as confused as he was. "What do you mean you don't have control?"

"What part of that do you not get, Sid?" he responded while still trying to illicit some kind of response from the controls. "I don't have control, it's not responding."

"Why?" it was a stupid question really but she couldn't stop the question. Nov was annoyed, that was the only time he really snapped at her but she could also tell he was worried when he stopped talking all together.

The Hammerhead's VI screeched to life revealing the rogue VI that had taken over Project Overlord. "Might have something to do with that," he said.

The Hammerhead launched upward with far more trust that it was normally capable of, jostling them all. "Override the VI," Garrus suggested, "purge it."

Nov was trying but the VI screeched at him again. "I can't. I'm locked out."

"Pull it," Tali said and was in action before anyone really knew it. She moved from her seat to the small space to the right of the pilot's seat.

"Altitude's increasing…I thought this thing had max thrust." Sidda said and Nov ignored it.

"Come on, Tali," Nov encouraged. He wasn't clear on what she was doing, but of everyone in the Hammerhead besides himself, he bet she would fix this…or at least get him some sort of control back.

Tali opened the panel under the main console, scanned it quickly making the VI screech again, pulled the entire relay. Half the systems went dark and the engines went silent.

"Well, I think that solved the VI problem," Nov muttered as they felt the weightlessness of the Hammerhead ceasing its ascension and falling back to Aite.

"Altitude?" Garrus inquired feeling a bit superfluous in the situation.

"225 meters," Sidda replied as Tali kept working from where she pulled the relay.

"Oh, boy," Nov muttered. "Tali, I need control back now."

"Working on it," she said sharply. Nov kept trying to fire the engines but whatever Tali was doing wasn't done yet.

Nov watched the altimeter dropping like a rock. "Tali…," he pressed again but the Quarian didn't respond right away. "Tali."

"Got it," she announced and scooted back as quickly as possible. There was only one way out of this and she really wanted the Hammerhead's seat restraints for it.

The Hammerhead whirred back to life. "Alright, hang on." The Hammerhead was going far too fast and Nov hit the thrusters to slow down before they splattered to the ground. They all felt the Gs and Nov felt like someone was sitting on his chest. The Hammerhead shook as Nov taxed the thrusters more and more, they were going to overheat. His quick calculation deduced that they wouldn't be slow enough before they hit the surface. The impact would kill them. "Come on, come on. This is gonna be close."

Without the VI he had to calculate this in his head and hit the boost at the perfect time before hitting the surface then control the speeding Hammerhead until it slowed enough they could stop. The Hammerhead approached the surface and Nov fired the boost. The force of it hit and they felt more Gs as the Hammerhead rocketed forward. The impact was felt as the ship bounced hard on the surface sounding like it bottomed out and fish-tailed, threatening to spin out of control across the landscape. Now it was all piloting, Nov focused on the terrain speeding past him.

To the outside observer it probably looked like the Hammerhead was in a road race, weaving through canyons and down creek beds, but in reality, Nov was just trying to make sure they didn't hit anything. If they did they were dead. They came out of the canyons and reached green rolling fields and the Hammerhead had bled off enough momentum they could come to a stop.

The occupants let out a collective sigh and Nov collapsed back into the seat clearly relieved. "Fuck me," he swore. "Everyone okay?"

Garrus grunted righting himself in the back.

"Keelah," Tali responded also relieved but she was the real hero here.

Sidda leaned over and kissed Nov. "Nice flying, Cal."

Nov wished he could take the credit…he couldn't it was gravity that ran that show. "More like falling."

"Nov, I'm gonna buy you a bottle of whatever you want," Garrus told him from the back of the Hammerhead.

The other Turian scoffed. "Not me. Tali's the hero here…pulling the VI control…nice thinking."

"Are we good to go?" Sidda asked and Nov tapped a few things on the console.

Nov and Tali weren't sure. "Give us a minute." Nov replied as Garrus exited the ship to look at the exterior. The Hammerhead wasn't as tough as the Mako and it had landed hard, the thrusters smelled like they were burning but seemed to be intact.

After a few minutes he returned and reported as Tali and Nov finished their quick check. "No automap, VI targeting assist is down," Nov told her and tapped one more thing, "most everything works so long as it didn't need a VI to run it."

"Manual control?" she asked and he nodded.

"I can fly it manually, Garrus on the guns, Tali on maintenance…we can do it."

Sidda nodded. "Just like the Mako."

Garrus snorted. "Made of glass." He switched places with Sidda in the gunner seat.

**

Nov went a bit slower with the Hammerhead under manual control. Even with the VI offline the ship handled beautifully. Too bad it wasn't as tough as it should be.

"Approaching the coordinates for Prometheus Station," Tali announced.

Nov brought the Hammerhead to a stop at the edge of a drop off and let Tali scan it. "Son of a bitch," Garrus said as he saw what they all saw.

A derelict Geth ship. "Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity," he repeated. "Well that fits."

"Are you calling the Geth gods?" Tali inquired and Nov stammered.

"No…I just think we're gonna get our asses kicked."

"Rogue VI presences confirmed. It has control of the cannon." Tali informed as her console squawked at her.

The Hammerhead was fast but could not take a hit. "We are definitely gonna get our asses kicked."

"Maybe not," Garrus thought out loud. "Those shield pylons…take them out and we can get in under the gun and take it out."

The two Turians looked at each other and Sidda certainly saw them smile. "I run you gun?" said Nov. They were grinning…she was sure of it.

All Sidda could do was hang on and observe. Nov dropped the Hammerhead at a 90-degree angle to the cannon that was 'infected' by the rogue VI and begun his game. The goal was to let it target, lock, and then gun it out of the way.

"What's this remind you of?" Garrus asked conversationally like he was actually enjoying himself.

The Hammerhead had a gun that rivaled the Mako's and it made short work of the shield pylons once Nov used the Geth cannon to blow away the individual shield protecting them. "APC training," Nov chuckled.

APC training was just what it sounded like, it wasn't dull and war games were used. "Gotta be the best week of boot," Garrus replied.

"I'll go with squad tactics."

Garrus couldn't argue. Squad tactics was late in the training, the recruits against the instructors. "Which did you have?"

"Warehouse. You?"

"Spaceport."

"Ouch."

Sidda cleared her throat pointedly. "Gentlemen, I know you're having fun an all but…could we?"

"You just sit in the back and take a nap, Sid, let the Turians handle it," Nov chuckled as he continued the simple pattern of allowing the Cannon to lock and then scoot out of the way.

Tali chuckled and Sidda sat back. "And that's when I shot him, Your Honor," Sidda muttered.

**

The crashed Geth ship was in a word, creepy. It was far too quiet and had disabled Geth everywhere. The big Prime in the foyer was a troubling item. It appeared to be in stasis but given Sidda's luck it wouldn't be in stasis for very long. They pressed on to override Prometheus' lockdown.

Nov was examining a console when the VI appeared and screamed an indecipherable message again. He lingered a moment as the image lingered longer than it normally did.  
Something nagged at him. It had been nagging since Hermes Station, the explanation from Dr. Archer was plausible but something didn't add up he just simply couldn't figure it out.

"What's up?" Sidda asked as the green flickered and vanished.

"I don't think this thing wants to hurt us."

Sidda's brow furrowed. "Uhh, have you been here this whole time?"

"Yeah, I know, Hermes, Vulcan, drop us from a great height…I just…I don't know," Nov acknowledged knowing how crazy it sounded but it was a nagging feeling that was driving him crazy. "Nevermind."

Sidda wasn't sure what to say. "Come on, I think Tali's done with tetrus."

Getting out of the crashed Geth ship was hairy to say the least, even though they had all anticipated having to fight Geth on the way out, they were nearly overwhelmed by the sheer force. As of right now Sidda was extremely glad she'd brought this team with her. Nov and Tali alone were a devastating duo. The Prime that they had been leery of on the way in didn't disappoint on the way out. They had all fought Primes before but this one took it to a whole other level…even with it being at the disadvantage of elevation.

"I guess that one gets the gold medal for toughness. Damn," Sidda commented as the behemoth fell. "Cal, you okay?"

Nov took a hit right to the chest from the plasma rifle. His shields and top of the line armor kept him alive but it still felt like he'd been run over by a Krogan. "Yeah, I'm okay," he managed out and looked down at his chest.

Garrus piloted the Hammerhead to Atlas Station so Nov could take a little break. Mostly he needed to evaluate his armor, there was damage but his omni-tool read that it was superficial.

"What's on your mind, Cal?" she asked, he was uncharacteristically quiet.

He was still thinking about the entire situation. The more stations they tore through the more he felt that there was more to this. "Archer's not telling us everything."

"Yeah…I'm sensing that too," she agreed. "Still think the VI doesn't want to hurt us?"

"It's doing everything it can to achieve its goal but…I don't know…something doesn't feel right," he told her and was aggravated that he couldn't pinpoint his intuition.

"Alright, kids," Garrus announced from the front. "Atlas Station."

"Looks like we'll figure it out soon enough," Sidda muttered and he snorted.

**

Atlas Station was worse than all of them combine, although it didn't have the creep factor of Prometheus. Once again it was shockingly easy to get in but they knew that the problems would surface when they wanted to get out. They reached the lockdown and carefully entered the room. So far it was all too easy, this was the main lab, it was far too easy and they all knew it.

"Don't be surprised that if by hitting this I summon the end of the universe," Nov joked carefully examining the area.

"Or a Reaper," Sidda muttered. The other shoe had to drop at some point.

"I think those are the same thing," Garrus added.

Nov touched the console and felt the virus invaded his Omni-tool and crawled up into every cybernetic implant he had. He let out a strangled scream as a sharp pain arrived in his temple then dissipated. To Sidda the scream sounded like the distorted noise on the monitors. His vision changed and seemed like that of a virtual reality.

"Cal?" he heard ringing in his ears and Sidda was starting to panic. "Cal, are you okay?"

He couldn't respond even if he was coherent enough to do so. Sidda was worried. It seemed that the virus took over Nov's body. His eyes were the green color of the monitors and he seemed dazed.

Nov staggered a bit as he walked and collapsed to his hands and knees in the corridor they came in. He heard the door close behind. He was so disoriented he felt nauseated but when it cleared up his realities had merged. He was in the same facility but the environment was virtual. Gold grid patterns were hard to look at because the depth perception was off. He turned back to the door that had closed behind him. "Sid!" he shouted but there was no response.

He stumbled as he moved back down the hall they'd came from. He saw a green orb in one of the labs and headed towards it. His head was starting to throb. The virtual reality was very disorienting. As soon as he got close to the orb it was revealed to be a data node, for lack of a better term. He watched Gavin Archer talking with someone, presumably his brother. His brother seemed a bit strange, almost like a Salarian. He attributed that to the mental disorder he suffered. Once that construct was finished he moved to another one. This one showed David conversing with the Geth. It was amazing really. No one had figured out to actually communicate with the Geth in their own 'language' but this young man had. It was incredible.

Nov was beginning to understand. The more 'nodes' he watched the more this made sense. The virus was David. The poor kid was trapped and terrified. By the time he watched the last node in the labs he understood fully and he was going to kill Gavin Archer. They had been told David volunteered but that wasn't the case. At first it seemed he had but when David asked him to stop his brother ignored it and forced him into the merging, the VI then proved to be too much for him and overwhelmed him. "Hang in there, Kid, I'm going to help you," he said aloud after the familiar plea from David was heard. Begging for someone to help him.

His head still hurt but he pressed on. Blended realities or not, he found Geth, firing his rifle made his head throb even more but he had to disconnect the VI/Human Hybrid before it uploaded into the Normandy. As he was fighting everything began to make sense, Prometheus, Hermes, and Vulcan Stations all had the same thing in common Mechs and Geth doing all they could to carry out the VI – or David's – wishes. It wasn't until now Nov understood they were trying to help him.

"Please! Make it stop!" David cried again.

"Kid, stop throwing the Geth at me, I'm trying to help!" he shouted ducking behind a pillar. The AI Core had cables leading to it and he had to decide quickly how to stop the upload. The Core was shielded but a big enough explosion would take care of that once the shield was down. The small green orbs of the virus travelled down the cables to the core. He shot them before the made it, then shot the Geth that materialized to stop him. The Mattock was a gift from the spirits. They were protecting the Hybrid but the person screaming for help was the Human. When the Core shield dropped he let his Disruptor grenades fly. The grenades arched and hit the remaining Geth too. He shot again this time at the core, he deduced that bringing down the AI Core was the way to make this all stop.

His shields were brought down and he felt the impact of the Geth plasma rifle. "Come on, Kid, work with me," he grumbled while reloading his rifle. One more hit from the Disruptor grenades and the Core was down. Once the Core was down there was a pulse explosion and Nov was hit with the same disoriented feeling that he had before. The construct reality vanished showing the one he belonged in but his headache remained. Once he was able to focus he wished he hadn't seen what he saw.

"Quiet! Please, make it stop!" he heard David yell again.

He got his first look at David Archer, the VI/Human Hybrid. Nov was horrified and disgusted by what he saw. "Spirits," he breathed shocked by the Human hanging in the middle of the core with wires, tubes, and ports throughout him connecting him to the core. "David?"

"Please. Make it stop," he repeated in a quieter plea.

Nov didn't even know where to begin. All the technical knowledge he possessed and he had no idea what to do now. "Wait! Wait!" he heard from behind him. Gavin Archer, the one who presided over this particular corner of hell.

"What have you done to him?" he demanded. "You told us he volunteered!"

"It…it started that way but after a while…," he trailed off clearly understanding that this was wrong on every level. "Watching David communicate with the Geth…it was incredible. It all seemed harmless."

Nov wheeled on him and pointed to David. "Does THIS look harmless!?" he roared angrily.

Gavin didn't like being shouted at and glared at the Turian Spectre. "The Illusive Man demanded results, you don't understand-…"

"I don't give a fuck!" he roared. "He's your brother! He trusted you to protect him and you turned him into THAT!"

"You'll never understand. We needed a way to defend ourselves against the Geth-…"

Nov wanted to beat the daylights out of him but so far, he'd held his composure…barely. "The only reason the Geth attacked was because they were trying to help him!"

"You don't know that."

David infested his cybernetics to show him the truth so he absolutely did know what happened. "I do know that, I saw it, you son of a bitch," he snarled.

Gavin paused and considered what he had done. Something he should have considered long ago. "What I've done to David is unethical. Please, let me take him. Take care of him."

Nov laugh, he wasn't amused he was flabbergasted by the nerve of this man. "Are you kidding me? You're never going to see him again. Cerberus will never touch him again."

"You can't do that."

The best thing in the galaxy right now was that Nov actually could do what he threatened. "I am invoking Spectre authority under Council directive 2135-B and remanding David Archer into my care." He wanted to make sure he sounded official. If he had to he'd take this all the way to Council, the Asari, the Alliance, and the Turians. This was reprehensible no matter who you asked.

"You can't take him aw-…," Archer didn't get a chance to finish as Nov punched him across the jaw and once he was down he continued until the vile individual was subdued.

Nov didn't have siblings but he didn't need to have them to know that this was wrong. It enraged him beyond his senses. "You hear this because I'm going to say this once and never again: if you ever come near him, write him a letter, even think about him, I will kill you. I swear this on the two I hold dear and my own blood. I will kill you," he punched him again to make sure he remembered it.

"Cal!" he heard Sidda call. "Ca-…oh my god."

Nov moved away from the bloodied Doctor. "Sid, call the Alliance and you may want to get Dr. Chakwas down here too," he called back. "Garrus, lock this piece of shit in a hole somewhere."

Sidda wore the same horrified expression as Nov. She wanted to know what happened to David but was also concerned about what had happened to Nov. "What happened? Are you okay?"

His head still hurt but it was trumped by his anger. "You are not going to believe this shit."

Nov turned back to David chanting the same thing over and over again. "It all seemed harmless." How anyone could do this to another person let alone family was deplorable. David was also handicapped, a mental disorder and that enraged him further. "It all seemed harmless."


	43. Glares, Glowers, and Pet Names

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for the reviews and the kind words. :) Always much appreciated. Keep it coming.

Mass Effect  
"Foreign Relations"

 

Chapter Forty Three: Glares, Glowers, and Pet Names

 

Nov was on the crew deck with his feet propped up on the table. Gardner had made him a reasonable facsimile of seasoned steak and turnips. Something that was Turian but easy to make, humans called it steak and potatoes, certain things, even food transcended species. They hung around Aite's orbit for a little while longer than Sidda had anticipated but then again she never expected to find what they had and for him to react the way that he did. It took Nov a while to simmer down after what he'd seen but he couldn't help it. Project Overlord disgusted him on every level but he knew that Sidda was in hot water with the Illusive Man now.

He heard Sidda coming before he saw her. "How'd it go?" he called as she came around the corner.

Sidda was annoyed; her chat with the Illusive Man resulted in her hanging up on him, so to speak. "I took a Spectre to top secret Cerberus project with questionable ethics to say the least. Yanked the rug from under them and took their subject and research to turn over to the Alliance…how do you think it went?" she asked and sat down next to him.

"Good thing you don't like him," he replied. He knew how it went, the only reason she was still in command of the _Normandy_ was because Cerberus needed her. Once this was over they would probably kill her.

She grunted in replied. "Hackett loves me, considering I send all these Cerberus nuggets to him when I find them." He looked much more settled now. "How are you do-…"

"I'm fine, Sid," he cut her off sharply knowing that was going to be her question.

"You were a bit rough on Dr. Archer down there."

"He's lucky I didn't kill him," he replied in a low tone. She narrowed her eyes at him and he sighed. "My mother's handicapped, not a mental disorder, but still…I don't know how anyone could do that to family."

Sidda didn't know much about his family aside from the fact his father was dead, that Nov hated him, and his mother was a botanist. "He should be in good hands with the Alliance, I asked them to keep me or you updated. What was it like being controlled by the VI?"

"David," he corrected. "And it gave me a headache." The mother of all headaches to be precise.

 _"Commander, I would like to speak with you as soon as you are available."_ Samara interrupted on the comm and Sidda acknowledged.

Sidda grumbled and stood. "Jesus, can't anyone do anything for themselves on this ship?" she muttered.

"Perks of being at the top," he replied as he continued eating pausing only when she gave him a quick peck on the left mandible.

Samara was oddly antsy when Sidda found her in the Observation lounge, rather than her typical meditation she was pacing. "Samara, you okay?"

"I have her, Commander, Morinth is on Omega," the Justicar said with the mild tone that masked the obvious sense of urgency.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. We must go there immediately before I lose her again." Samara sounded serious, focused and Sidda believed her.

"We're on our way to drop Cal off at the Citadel, we can go after."

"No. It must be now. I cannot risk losing her."

If it were anyone other than a Justicar Sidda may have told them to sit tight but Samara didn't get very riled up and Morinth sounded dangerous. "Alright…Joker," she began keying the comm, "course correction, take us to Omega."

_"Copy that, Commander."_

**

Mordin didn't mind sharing the Tech Lab with a temporary colleague while Sidda and Samara were on Omega. Nov was highly skilled and Mordin appreciated that. He was intrigued by the Turian in several ways, his technical skills and combat skills were just a part of it.

"Understand you have significant tolerance for pain. VI construct would have been painful and disorienting. Would like to study you, Captain," he said breaking the silence in the room.

Nov paused from what he was doing. "Cal," he corrected. "And you're not experimenting on me." So far, aside from the shoulder replacement, no one had experimented on him and he planned to keep it that way.

"You were incorporated into a VI construct."

Nov returned to looking over some omni-tool upgrades in an effort to upgrade Sidda's. Her Omni-tool had never had the level of tech ability that he was comfortable with. She needed an omn-tool that could handle anything. "And it gave me a headache. Which is gone now. I'm not going to be a lab animal, Mordin," he answered in a tone that ended the line of conversation.

The Salarian grunted. "Very well. See me if you change your mind."

"Not likely," he muttered.

"Prefer females of your species. Much more agreeable, even your Cabals," Mordin commented.

Cabal's were only deployed for special operations…very special operations, and to be deployed with anyone other than Turian troops was even stranger. "When would you have worked with a Cabal?" he asked but never got the answer as the door opened. "Hey," he greeted Sidda. "I'd ask how it went but you look suspiciously empty handed."

Sidda groaned her response. He was right. "I have a proposition for you, Casanova." Nov straightened and gave her a look. She'd hadn't called him that in a while, it took time for him to know what it meant but he knew the meaning now.

He stepped closer to her and cocked his head to flirt with her. "Here? Now? In front of him?" Nov asked as he couldn't resist the temptation to play.

Sidda rolled her eyes. "Shut up and follow me."

He did follow her and he wasn't expecting sex or to end up in the Starboard Observation with Samara but he couldn't resist the urge to be crude. "Well, Sid…didn't know you were into Asari too."

Sidda sighed, he wasn't being mean he was just being himself and exceptionally playful. Samara didn't react to his comment but Sidda shook her head. "Cal…"

"I'm just kidding, I'm sorry," he chuckled. "What's up?"

Samara answered. "Have you heard of an Ardak-Yakshi?"

Nov was very suspicious now. "Demon of the Night Winds, yeah. Rare genetic disorder causes them to kill whoever they mate with." Oversimplified but accurate.

Samara blinked, clearly surprised by his knowledge of something the Asari tried to keep hidden. "Impressive, Spectre Nov."

Nov continued to impress. He was the jack of all trades…had knowledge of everything or so it seemed. "Let me guess, you've encountered one before?" Sidda asked and he shook his head.

He stayed far, far away from Ardak-Yakshi. "No, a relative of Shala's is one…she was sent to that Monastery of yours."

"We need you to be the bait for one." Sidda blurted knowing that they didn't have a whole lot of time to talk about this.

He blinked, and blinked again. "You need me to be the bait for the what now?" he asked and could have sworn he heard that wrong.

"We know where her preferred hunting ground is but-…"

"But you need to get her away from crowds and alone," he finished and the Justicar nodded.

"Alone and unaware so I may deal with her."

That meant kill her and Nov wasn't sure if he liked being tossed into the middle of it especially when they wanted to use him as bait for the most dangerous type of Asari there was. "Why me?"

"Because you're Special Forces and you can handle anything and you're the Asari magnet," Sidda replied with the truth on all points.

**

Nov didn't wear any armor, he wanted to, but there was no way he'd get an Ardak-Yakshi to let her guard down around him if he was in full armor. He had on all black casual wear and he smoothed his tunic in the mirror before stepping out of the bathroom. Sidda was sitting on the edge of the desk twirling a knife.

"You know you take longer than me to get ready," she sniped and he returned it with a smirk.

"Would have been a lot more enjoyable for you if you actually joined me in the shower," he replied and Sidda chuckled.

"Yeah but I don't think Samara is gonna want to wait that long while we have a lot of fun." She winked as he slipped his omni-tool on and headed toward the door. "Hey," Sidda stopped him putting a hand on his right arm. "They don't allow weapons but…take this."

She presented him with a boot knife and Nov gave her a curious expression. "Knife against an Ardak-Yakshi…"

Sidda shrugged. "I've seen what a Turian can do with just a knife," she said. "That Turian was Nihlus so let's see how you fair with it."

Nov rolled his eyes as she played with him. "Thank you for the vote of confidence," he grumped and strapped the knife to his left arm under the sleeve. "Let's go."

She stopped him again. "Cal," she began and it was obvious that she was worried about this. "be careful."

"I'll be fine," he assured and sounded as confident as ever. Maybe a little too confident.

"If she kisses you she kills you."

"I got it, Baby, don't get seduced by the life sucking Asari," he kidded trying to lighten the mood. "I'll be fine, Sid." She was still worried and he could tell. "You know back home, part of our old customs, you giving me a knife after I gave you one means we're betrothed."

The color in her face must have changed because he chuckled loudly. "Don't push your luck, Cal."

**

Omega was terrible. There were places that even Nov didn't like. The first thing he noticed was the smell. It was horrible. The second thing he noticed was Captain Gavorn. He looked familiar but Nov couldn't place him at the moment.

He listened to the diary of the poor human girl that was Morinth's last victim. "The more I listen to this the less enthused I am about it. How do you know she's gonna pick me, I'm nothing like this poor girl?"

"You're the self-proclaimed Asari lover you'll figure it out," Sidda replied and Nov gave her a sarcastic chuckle.

"I really hate you right now, Sidda."

The Club had the same vibe as Afterlife and Nov blended quickly but the Special Forces in him noted every threat in the room in a matter of minutes. The Krogan at the bar, the cluster of Turians in an alcove, Batarians who'd had too much to drink…and those were just the ones he saw right off the bat. As he was getting a drink from the bar he overheard the biggest threat. The cluster of Turians were talking about mugging people as they left the club. Not something he wanted to let happen if he could help it.

Nov sat down with them like he owned the place. "We need to talk, guys," he began and they all looked at him like he was crazy and they were going to kick his ass.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Not important," Nov replied quickly. "I know you guys think you're all tough and badass over here plotting the muggings of the patrons here but I'm here to tell you that you're not going to do that."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" One of them asked sounding inches from kicking Nov's ass.

"Because if you do you'll have to deal with me," he answered, confident enough to make them pause.

"And you would you be?"

"As I said, not important, but if Aria says 'no muggings' then there will be no muggings. So if I see or hear of any of you morons accosting the patrons here you get to deal with me."

"You don't work for Aria."

His deadly confidence was hard to ignore. "Do you really want to take that chance?" It was a bold faced lie. He'd met Aria once, was fairly impressed, but was by no means in her employ. It was a gamble and a major bluff…one they bought.

After he left them with the fear of any deity they had in them he mingled a bit more and helped an Asari dancer being hassled by a Turian. He did note that everyone he had an issue with was Turian, didn't say much about his brethren. He wanted to be noticed but keep a low profile at the same time. Mixing a tough guy routine with charm was a bit of specialty for him but he didn't want to overdo it. Two hours had passed and he hadn't been approached by one who seemed like a predator.

"You're the most interesting person in here tonight." A beautiful voice addressed him. He turned and found an Asari dressed all black and bearing a striking resemblance to Samara. She was an Ardak-Yakshi alright, that much he knew the moment he looked at her. No Asari looked at him that way. Like a predator looks at its prey.

"Is that so?" he replied and gave her his full attention.

"Yes," she replied. "I've been watching you all night. Come over…I have a table."

The next hour was tedious. She was testing him and it was crucial for him to not reveal his motives. Most Asari he was drawn to, they attracted him nearly instantly but this one actually repelled him knowing what she was and that she was cold blooded killer has an effect on him. She truly couldn't help it but it was her decision to live outside the designated Monastery. That made her a serial killer.

He managed to impress her but in his own right he was just as dangerous as she was. Nov kept up the act and left the Club with her. Sidda and Samara were nearby but out of sight and he focused on not losing her interest or tipping her off. She isolated him on her ground…he couldn't help but feel like a lamb to slaughter.

He looked around Morinth's apartment and listened to her prattle on. She was by far the most high and mighty Asari he'd ever met. Shala was 300 years old and had never made him feel inferior. He didn't like Morinth…not one bit.

He sat down next to her and felt fear for the first time in a long time. "You're not like the rest," she commented and he adjusted his seat to get more comfortable.

"Is that so?"

"We may both be killers but you and I are nothing alike."

"Why do you say I've killed? Enough of the games." She was spooked now. It wasn't the plan he had but there was nothing he could do about it now. "Look into my eyes and tell me you want me. Tell me you'd kill for me." He'd seen Shala embrace eternity before but when Morinth did it his brain fogged. "Tell me you want me," she said again and it took a moment for his head to clear, by that point she was so close to him she nearly kissed him.

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts praising the military training and the fact that he'd been with Shala as many times as he had when she took him on a tour of 'eternity'. "Surprise, bitch," he snarled breaking her hold much to her surprise and punched her. She had recoiled far enough from him that he actually got a good hit. Morinth stumbled back as he stood. "Yeah, I know what you are."

Nov grappled with Morinth for a few seconds that seemed like minutes, Biotics were hard to fight against but there were courses upon courses at boot camp, OCS, and Special Forces training on how to do it and win. Nov didn't win but he was interested in buying time for Sid and Samara. He never had the upper hand with her but did match her until she trapped his right arm, she gave it such a hard pull he felt the synthetic weave give…or that's what it felt like. He gave a pained cry and the knife Sidda gave him sprang from his sleeve and he stabbed her in the neck forcing her to release him. His shoulder hurt like hell but he noticed Samara and Sidda arrived.

Morinth, being severely wounded with a knife driven into the nape of her neck, didn't make her a simple opponent to defeat. Nov and Sidda were superfluous to the biotic storm raging around them as Samara proved that she was the strongest.

"Damnit, I told you to be careful," Sidda snapped as he cradled his shoulder. It didn't hurt as bad as it did when he was shot or when he was in the hospital but it still hurt like a bitch.

"I was…," he snarled in pain and irritation. "It's my shoulder."

"I can see that," she snipped back. "I should never have asked you to do this."

If he didn't want to help he wouldn't have. "Everything was going fine right up there 'til the end."

Sidda geared her Omni-tool for a medical scan to see if he was injured anywhere else. "You mean when she tried to rip your arm off?"

"That would be the end," he replied and looked at her. "I'll be fine, Sid."

**

Samara was quiet; Sidda expected nothing less after she had to kill one of her daughters. She couldn't image what it would be like to have to do that. Sidda didn't push but offered her an ear if she needed it.

"OW!" she heard from the Med Bay as the door opened. Chakwas was in the process of removing his shirt and there really wasn't an easy way. Nov was glaring at her and holding his shoulder.

Chakwas didn't intend to cause him pain but sometimes it couldn't be helped. "What happened before?" Chakwas asked as she ran a scan over Nov's visibly swollen shoulder.

Sidda stayed quiet but both Nov and Chakwas saw her. "Sniper rifle, four years ago," he replied in a pained clipped tone. "Synthetic bone replacement, the entire shoulder blade."

Sidda stepped closer as the scan appeared on the monitor. "Well, Doctor?" she asked and had a flashback to seeing him in the infirmary on the _Lante_. She didn't like it then and she didn't like it now.

Chakwas harrumphed. "Nothing's broken, the synthetic bone weave is intact, just some hyperextension and tissue tears. I'll start a treatment for him but he'll make a full recovery."

She left and Sidda helped him lean back on the bed. This really was a flashback to the _Lante_. "Cal-…"

"Don't say it," he cut her off sharply. "You've said it ten times already I don't need to hear eleven. I'm fine." He hissed as he moved wrong. "I'll be fine; it just hurts like a bitch now."

She'd always worry about him just as he would always worry about her. "You want me to get a deck of cards?" she asked and he chuckled. "Keep the tradition going?"

**

The _Normandy_ was still docked at Omega giving Daniels and Donnelly time to go through the salvage yards for parts. Sidda informed Nef's mother that her daughter's killer had been brought to justice and made her way back to the _Normandy_ to get some sleep. Someone was in her quarters when she opened the door. Music was playing, her Earth music, which was enough to make her brow furrow. Even more so when she notice that the guest was Nov. The music was AC/DC; of course it was something that she expected him to be listening to since it was right up his alley.

"Found my music collection, eh?" she commented and Nov tapped the stereo control next to him.

"I have to say I like Earth music," he replied and went back to the chessboard on the table.

Sidda bent over and pulled her boots off tossing them down next to the bed. "Did you break out or did Chakwas release you?"

Nov continued to study the chessboard. "I am a highly trained Special Forces operative…I can get out of a Med Bay any time I want," he replied quietly and Sidda chuckled.

"She let you out?"

"Yep."

"How you feeling?" she asked and came over sitting down next to him. He fiddled with the chessboard looking like he was playing a game by himself.

"Sore but I'll live," he replied. "How's Samara?"

"Oh, you know, about how you'd expect after killing one of her children…actually better…must be an Asari thing."

"Justicar actually, it's all in the Code," he said and took a drink.

"Is there anything you don't know?" she asked and he snorted.

"Quite a lot, actually," he replied with a chuckle and handed her the knife she'd given him to take on the mission. "Thanks for this."

Sidda waved it off. "Keep it," she smiled and he set it down.

A Turian sleeping in a human bed wasn't easy. Turians weren't built like Humans or Asari and didn't lay flat to sleep. He managed but this wasn't easy. "Your mattresses are terrible," Nov complained trying to find a comfortable position on a bed that wasn't made with Turian's in mind.

Sidda chuckled as he stuffed another pillow under his head. "You seemed to like it not too long ago."

He paused and shimmied hoping he'd take the pressure off all the uncomfortable places. "I had other things on my mind…and other places," he said lewdly. "If you're really that concerned for my comfort you can occupy my mind some more."

Sidda chuckled and waited for him to stop squirming around. "Glad to know your shoulder feels better."

"No that still hurts…I blame your bed."

"You complain endlessly," she chided with a smile. "You don't blame the sex?"

"No male would ever blame the sex."

Sidda laughed and reached over him for the Datapad on the nightstand. "This came for you," she said handing it to him and then went back to snuggling against him.

Nov tapped the screen and opened the message. He read it and chuckled.

_'So I hear you are my new enforcer. Come see me next time you're on Omega. –Aria'_

"What the hell is that all about?" Sidda asked after he showed it to her.

"I told a group of Turians bent on mugging the people at the club as they left that I was Aria's enforcer," he sounded pleased with himself but in his head he knew that if Aria wanted to see him it probably wasn't good.

Sidda rose up on her right elbow. "You name-dropped Aria T'Loak?" Sidda she asked in disbelief. "Damn you're cool."

He laughed. "I won't be finding out what she wants to chat with me about any time soon."

"I thought she'd be right up your alley, Cal. Blue and bitchy."

"My tastes have shifted somewhat lately," he replied and she blushed.

"Aww, Cal…" she flirted and straddled him.

Nov purred as she kissed him. "I should get hurt more often."

 _"Commander,"_ Chambers' voice came over the comm.

"Don't answer that," Nov said, she looked perfect sitting atop him.

Sidda had no intention of answering it and started to kiss Nov all over working her way down slowly.

 _"Commander, come in please."_ Chambers repeated and Sidda groaned in unison with Nov's annoyed growl.

"What, Chambers?" she answered in an annoyed tone.

 _"Sorry to bother you, Commander, but there is an emergency message from the Illusive Man."_ She said and Sidda sighed. Nov's hands were roving over her body but he was gentle with his claws. When she didn't respond Chambers tried again. _"He wishes to speak with you in the Comm Room."_

"Tell him to wait." Sidda bitched and got up to get dressed. "I'll be there in a minute."

Chambers acknowledged and Nov watched Sidda get dressed. "I'll just be waiting right here…I'd hurry back."

Sidda smirked at him as she sat down on the bed to pull her boots on. "Or you could take care of it yourself."

She gave him no slack and he loved that. "Oh that's cold," he laughed.

She giggled and leaned down to kiss him. "I'll be back."

"Tell the Illusive Man I said 'hello'."

"Yeah, because he loved the last message you sent him," she muttered on the way out the door. Nov enjoyed the fact that he sent the Illusive Man an unequivocal message.

**

Nov felt the ship move, she cleared Omega's docking cradle and was on the move. Something wasn't right so he got dressed and headed out to find Sidda and figure out what was going on. Yes they were due to head back to the Citadel but Sidda had been gone for longer than she should have been. He found her in the CIC at the galaxy map looking at what seemed to be their next destination.

"What's going on?" he asked suddenly appearing next to her.

"Oh, hey…sorry," she apologized for not returning.

Nov shook his head. "What's up?"

"Collector lead," she replied. "Sorry. We'll get you back to the Citadel soon."

"Are you trying to keep me here?" he asked with a flirty tone. She chuckled in response and shrugged.

Having Nov onboard felt like a safety net. He would always protect her and she knew that so having him around made her feel safe when she was surrounded by Cerberus. "You're fun to have around," she said and he looked at the blinking dot on the Galaxy Map.

He loved being around her and smiled before turning his attention to the Galaxy Map. "That's a bit like the middle of nowhere, where are you going?"

"Cerberus found a disabled Collector ship. Apparently it had a run in with a Turian frigate and was disabled, the frigate was destroyed but the Collector ship is adrift."

Nov paused and gave her a look. "A Collector ship? Like the one on Horizon or the one that took out the SR1?" he questioned and she nodded. "No way one of our frigates could do that solo."

Turian ships were tough no matter which class they were but a frigate against a Collector ship was wishful thinking at best. "Could have been one ship, could have been many.  
They weren't specific. We need intel on the Collectors so that's where I'm heading."

"I'm going with you," Nov said and Sidda shook her head.

"Not with your shoulder."

"To hell with my shoulder."

"No, Cal, you're staying here."

"Then you better handcuff me to the bed because I'm not staying behind. Something is wrong here, Baby, I know better than anyone except Garrus what our ships can do. The _Ramora_ is the meanest ship we have in the bag and I don't even think its firepower could have touched it. And why wouldn't Palaven res-…"

"Alright, alright, alright. Gear up and meet us on the flight deck."

**

Nov grimaced under the weight of the armor. His shoulder complained until it was fitted and fastened. It felt fine afterward but it would hurt like a bitch after. When he resumed active duty his first training op back in full armor it hurt nearly as bad as when he was shot.

"I am not looking forward to taking this off," he lamented.

"You can stay behind," Sidda replied as Thane and Isla finished collecting their equipment.

He shook his head. "I'll be alright. Armor is designed to help but getting out it is not gonna be much fun."

The fact that they landed without so much as a peep from the Collector Ship only furthered their unease. EDI reported no damage that she could find and just as Nov had pointed out there was no debris field.

Isla set the Kodiak down and turned to Sidda and her team. "Touchdown, Commander," she said and Sidda secured her helmet along with Nov and Thane.

A small team was best for this despite the Collector ship being enormous. "Okay, Isla, stay with the Kodiak, you're our ride out."

"Just watch for us to be running back screaming," Nov put in as he turned the disruptor ammo on his rifle.

Isla secured her helmet as well and scoffed at Nov's comment. "I'll believe that scene coming from you," she replied and Nov laughed.

Garrus chose well. "Oh I really like you," he chuckled.

"Cal," Sidda called as the side door opened.

"Coming," he replied still chuckling about the fact that Isla had his number and wasn't afraid to call him on anything she saw fit to. The hatch closed behind Nov but Isla remained ready for anything.

EDI linked their hardsuits to an uplink node so they could raid the databank of the Collector Ship, the best place or intel on the enemy was straight from their own computers. According to the headings though it took them deep in to the disabled vessel was unnerved them all.

"It looks like an insect hive," Thane noted and Sidda grunted.

"Oh, I hate bugs," she replied to him as they walked through its halls uncontested.

"I hate the fact that we haven't seen one single bad guy," Nov added and then the talking ended. They maintained silence. Thane may not have been military but his discipline was astounding. Nov admitted that he didn't know many Drell but it spoke well for Thane that Sidda brought him along over the likes of Garrus or Tali. People she knew and trusted.

They walked a bit further, still no signs of anything. "How could one Turian ship disable a vessel of this size?" Thane asked as they systematically covered a corner and kept walking.

"I don't think it did," Nov replied quietly. "Something is not right here, Sid."

She agreed but didn't voice it. _"I have compared this ships EM signature to known Collector profiles. It is the vessel encountered on Horizon."_ EDI informed and Sidda looked to Nov.

"Maybe the defense tower softened it up for the Turians," she said but Nov shook his head. He still wasn't convinced of that.

"Still don't think that's it, Sid."

There were a few more minutes of walking before they found one of the pods seen on Horizon. The three of them froze at the way the room appeared. "I love what they've done with the place." Sidda drawled and Nov scoffed at the pile of dead bodies. He praised the fact he had a helmet on so he didn't have to smell it.

"I don't like what the place has done to them," he said and squatted down to examine it closer. He wished he hadn't. Something horrific happened to those people, their bodies were flattened, limp, splattered with blood, truthfully, he didn't know what happened to them but his imagination was generating enough ideas to give him nightmares.

"Why would they do this?" Thane asked and Sidda shrugged.

"Nothing we can do for them now except put a stop to the Collectors entirely," Sidda said and patted Nov's shoulder indicating they needed to move on.

Further up the corridor, if you could call it a corridor, they found what looked like a lab. "Looks like a lab of some kind," Thane said and Sidda's brow furrowed under the helmet.

"Out in the open?" she questioned.

"For all we know this could be the bathroom," Nov added making Sidda snort.

Nov scanned the console and the creature on the lab bed. "Looks medical," he commented. "EDI, I'm uploading this can you see what they're doing?"

 _"I can."_ She answered. _"Spectre Nov is correct; the data is primarily advanced genetics, looking for similarities between Humans and Collectors."_ That was unsettling and all three of them shifted uncomfortably. "Preliminary scans, however, indicate something remarkable."

"How so?"

_"A quad-strand DNA chain. Based on the evidence taken from various archeological digs only one species in the record is based on quad strand DNA."_

"No way," Nov said and he caught on quicker than Sidda did. "The Collectors are Protheans?"

 _"At some point, they were."_ She said. _"I am detecting extensive genetic modification and rewrite. If this was truly a Prothean it is not anymore."_

This was galaxy shattering to say the least. "We need to collect as much data as we can. Mordin should see this," Thane said. If they could find the central computer they could have it all.

"Alright, let's get this horror show finished. The central access can't be much further."

They moved on, quietly. All three of them were trying to wrap their heads around the astonishing news they'd just found. In two minutes they rewrote galactic history. Nov found a few consoles and junctions that didn't have much use then the path opened to the full interior of the ship. It was like the inside of a giant drum honey-combed with the pods found all over Horizon.

She gaped and felt a knot tie in her stomach. "Oh. My. God." Pods as far as the eye could see.

Thane was astonished too. There were so many pods…so many that was almost impossible to grasp. "Siha, they could abduct every human in the Terminus and still not have enough to fill those pods."

"They're going after Earth," Nov deduced and then the form of address that Thane used hit him. He didn't say Sidda he said 'siha' whatever that meant. "Wait a minute what'd you call her?"

"Siha," Thane answered.

"Her name is Sidda."

Sidda shook her head. "Siha: the warrior angels of the goddess Arashu," Sidda clarified. "Right, Thane?"

The Drell gave the single nod. "Very good, Commander."

Nov didn't like that at all. "He did…you hav…he gave you a pet name?" Turians were territorial. Very territorial and Nov didn't like the idea that Sidda had a pet name. Clearly she had a bond with the Drell and he didn't like that either.

"Cal, it's harmless, not now," Sidda told him.

Nov was glaring at Thane through is helmet and Thane was glowering back. Sidda didn't need to see their faces to know they were glaring at each other.

 _"Commander, how's it going over there?"_ Joker asked over the comm.

"Glares, glowers, and pet names," she muttered referring to the behavior of the boys.

 _"Uhh…what?"_ Joker asked.

"Nothing. What do you have?" she said and moved forward.

 _"On a hunch I had EDI run some scans on the Collector ship against the database."_ Joker told her.

"And?"

 _"Not only is it the same vessel from Horizon but it's a match to the one that attacked and destroyed the Normandy two years ago."_ EDI simplified.

Sidda paused mid-step. "The same ship dogging me for two years? I don't like the sound of that."

"No way that's a coincidence," Nov added.

"Let's just get it done and get the hell out of here."

 _"I don't like this, Commander, watch your back."_ Joker added.

"Isla," Sidda began as they kept walking with the boys glaring at each other behind her, "how's it going on your front?"

 _"All quiet. Too quiet. A ship like this should hold thousands…Kodiak sensors aren't picking up anything."_ She replied promptly. Isla remained in the Kodiak but had her shotgun ready.

"By far the creepiest place I've ever been," Nov muttered.

"This has got nothing on the Thorian," Sidda responded and shuddered at the thought of it. "Isla, sit tight…we'll be along directly."

Nov scoffed. "Screaming."

**

When they found the uplink node they still hadn't encountered even the slightest bit of resistance and aside from the Prothean in the lab the only bodies they'd found with the pile of human carcass' near the door.

"EDI, I'm setting up the link. Grab what you can and do it fast before the Collectors come to salvage this vessel," Sidda ordered. The longer they were there the more uneasy they all got. Sidda had never seen Thane nervous and she figured that if the assassin had the wiggins it wasn't a good sign. As soon as EDI uplinked and started to mine the system all hell broke loose. It was fairly obvious from the get go that this was a trap. The platform stopped spinning with a slam that knocked Thane off his feet and Sidda into one the uplink console.

"EDI?" Sidda questioned as Nov grabbed Thane's hand and pulled him to his feet.

_"Attempting to reestablish the connection."_

Nov spotted a platform spinning its way in and imagined that it didn't carry the greeting party. "Make it quick. Sid, we have incoming."

"Yeah, I see it," She said and found that the best place to take cover was right where the uplink was. "Thane, can you pick them off?"

The Drell nodded and traded his Tempest for the Viper. He didn't say much and Nov had to admit he respected him…but he still glared at him.

"EDI," Sidda began as Thane started to pick the Collector soldiers off one by one, "fast is better. Isla, I think this joint just woke up keep your eyes open."

The firefight was one the most intense that any of them had been in a very long time. After a few minutes and three waves of bad guys everything went oddly quiet. Three of them did a very good job together. They stayed in cover, used abilities and powers, and conserved ammo. It occurred to Nov that Thane may just rival Maridus or Garrus as a sniper, the Drell never panicked…not once in that entire fight.

"What the fuck was that?" Nov demanded as he voiced what they had been thinking. They uplinked to EDI and then it all went to hell.

"EDI?"

 _"I have reestablished the link and regained control of the platform."_ The AI replied. _"I have also found data to help us navigate the Omega 4 Relay. Additionally, I found the Turian signal that served as the lure for this trap. It is most unusual."_

"How so?" Sidda asked as she checked her rifle and pistol.

_"Turian emergency channels have secondary encryption. It is present but corrupted in the message."_

"That's impossible if it's genuine," Nov chimed in as he reloaded his weapons. "Told you this was a trap."

_"Spectre Nov is correct; it is not possible that the Illusive Man would believe the message was authentic. I found the anomaly using Cerberus detection protocols, written by the Illusive Man."_

Sidda leaned forward onto the console and swore. She shook her head and couldn't believe she could be so damn naïve. "That mother fucker set me up," she snarled angry with herself and her life right about now. "Again."

 _"Commander, I know you're having a bad day and all but that ship is powering up."_ Joker informed. _"You need to leave before the weapons come online and, you know, blow the Normandy in half."_

"Alright, people, double time it back to the Kodiak," Sidda ordered and they moved quickly off the platform. "Isla, did you get all that?"

_"That working for Cerberus will get you killed? Yes, I got all that."_

"Says the Blue Suns defector," Nov muttered and Sidda could hear the smirk over the comm.

 _"Why do you think I 'defected'? At least when I resigned I took a chunk of them with me. Any time you want me to show you just what I can do you just let me know."_ She replied and Nov chuckled. Now he was just trying to get a rise out of her.

"Would you two like a room?" Sidda asked.

"Why, you got something in mind?" both Nov and Isla said at the same time. They were starting to get along…sort of.

 _"I'm still where you left me."_ Isla said. _"I'll cover you as best I can."_

Getting off the Collector ship was intense. The Praetorian was the hardest thing to beat, the room they were in was awkward and Garrus' sniper rifle was sorely absent. The Viper just didn't have the punch that Garrus' had. The heavy weapon that Sidda brought wasn't the greatest against it but the Ark Projector did well enough allowing Nov and Thane could bring it down. Nov's grenades were also handy against floods of Collectors and Sidda's shockwave was invaluable against the onslaught of husks. As they got closer to the Kodiak they found a cluster of husks occupied by Isla. The Sentinel detonated her tech armor and the mindless drones were flattened in one spectacular display.

"Alright…," Nov began as they sprinted to the Kodiak, "you're impressive."

"Glad you approve."

"Let's go. I am not losing another ship," Sidda ordered.

**

The _Normandy_ jumped away from the Collector cruiser but that didn't mean all was quiet onboard. Sidda's conversation with the Illusive Man was not a long one…in fact it was very short but she came out fuming.

"You know I'm getting a little tired of being shot at because of Cerberus," Nov commented as Sidda left the comm room looking supremely pissed.

"Yeah? Try being me." She snapped back. "The man spends enough credits to buy a fleet on me and then tries to get me killed every time I turn around."

"Why don't you just take the _Normandy_ , kick the Cerberus crew off and go?"

Nov had a valid point, one that she, Joker, Tali, and Garrus all talked over at some point. "Because I need Cerberus' resources, Cal, the Alliance won't help me and neither will the Council."

"Sidda-…"

She growled in annoyance. Not necessarily at him but at the fact she was in clear danger without a choice to get away from it. "Cal, I'm sorry that you got stuck in the middle of that but I-…"

"I don't care about myself but I do care about you. Last thing I want is you..." he trailed off as he couldn't bring himself to complete the thought of her being hurt or worse again. "Sidda. I don't like this."

There was nothing she could do about it and she understood his worry. "I don't like it either but such as life." Her reply was clipped and a little rude but Nov took it knowing she was just mad.

"Sid."

"What do you want me to do? There's nothing I can do except trying to survive the meat grinder he keeps tossing me in." This was turning into a fight and she didn't want to fight with him so she just walked away.

Nov grumbled as she walked away from him and he shook his head. "No wonder Victus was always irritated."

"I heard that," she called back over her shoulder.


	44. Reprisals and Recompense

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wound up stuck on like page 8 for forever so I'm sorry for how long this took. Thank you very much for all the kudos and reviews. Keep them coming. Always open to feedback and ideas. Thank you for reading and please enjoy.

Mass Effect  
“Foreign Relations”

Chapter Forty Four: Reprisals and Recompense

 

By the time Sidda was done in the Terminus there would be nothing left of the Blue Suns, Isla seemed to have a direct line on their bullshit and every time they turned around they were landing on a cell of the mercenary band with both feet. This time it was a freighter called the _Strontium Mule_ , it had been carrying artifacts from a dig site. The Blue Suns killed everyone on board while Isla and Zaeed returned the favor.

Zaeed was still at odds with Sidda but he’d cooled it some lately, however, Sidda knew that it was only a matter of time before it became a problem.

“So how long is it before I exterminate all of the Blue Suns?” Sidda joked after she’d been summoned to the comm room by Isla.

Isla chuckled. “You have a ways to go for that.”

“You don’t mind wiping out your previous employer?”

Isla shook her head and tapped a few things on the control panel. “No, not really, they’re not all bad but most are.”

“Right now the only one I’m worried about is the one on this ship, and I’m not talking about you,” she said as Garrus joined them. Isla shrugged away Sidda’s issues with Zaeed.

“Well, he’s going to be angry for a while,” she said as Zaeed silently joined them too, folding his arms across his chest and leaning grumpily against the wall. “That was the closest he’d ever been to exacting his revenge and Vido got away.”

Zaeed scowled, his body language told them he was annoyed and didn’t like being talked about. “Moving on.”

Isla had something he was going to love. “But the good news is that I was able to narrow Vido’s location to the Terminus.”

Zaeed's scowl softened slightly but Garrus was pretty sure he wouldn’t call that ‘good news’. “Congratulations to us,” he scoffed with a chuckle and obvious sarcasm.

“Yeah, I’m with Garrus, I wouldn’t call that good news,” Sidda added.

“As opposed to the entire galaxy?” Isla countered with a smile.

“When she makes a point she makes a point,” Joker chuckled.

Isla had combed through the data from the freighter and found some promising leads. “I called in markers and old debts, four possible places Vido could be all are bases or outposts,” she said and tapped the console. The hologram showed them the Terminus with various systems highlighted.

Four seemed like a small number but too many for them to hit quickly. “Where do you think he is?”

She didn’t hesitate. “Joab or Sanctum. They’re the biggest most secure.” She said and the various highlighted systems dropped down to two.

Sidda had to make this right with Zaeed because if she didn’t it would come back to bite her. “Whichever one you want to start with first,” Sidda added, “you know him and you know the bases.”

“I think we should hit both at the same time,” she replied. “If we hit the wrong one first and word filters back, Vido will be long gone before we can find him again.”

“I agree,” Zaeed added in a low growl. He had been as anti-social to Sidda and the majority of the crew as he ever had been. The only one who was immune to his attitude was Isla, and even then, it was iffy.

“As do I,” Sidda replied with a pointed look to Zaeed. They were still at odds but she’d made it very clear he needed to keep himself under control. “Are you sure that he’s at one of these two?”

“He’s scared,” Zaeed chimed in. “Vido’s a coward, he runs and hides behind his men.”

“Which means the two strongest bases in the Terminus besides Omega,” Isla added and Sidda looked to Garrus who gave her a simple nod. The silent agreement.

“Okay. Isla, pick a team and take the Kodiak and hit one I’ll take the _Normandy_ and hit the other.”

The mercenary nodded. “I’ll take Joab, you take Sanctum.”

**

Isla picked Joab because she was more familiar with it. It was a Prothean dig site run by ExoGeni…as corrupt as it came. The Blue Suns made it a base and a very lucrative protection gig. Realistically, Vido could have been at Sanctum as well but there was no ‘entertainment’ at Sanctum’s base…there was a lot more fun to be had on Joab. That is where she bet he would be. With Garrus and Zaeed as her team, gaining entry wasn’t too difficult. Zaeed was more familiar with Sanctum and did question Isla’s choice of coming here. When it came down to it he deferred to her, she knew him better than he did.

The infiltration of the base wasn’t silent, Garrus and Zaeed did make short work of the guards before someone hit the alarm and all hell broke loose. The three-man team was highly effective until Zaeed took a hit to the shoulder, knocking him back.

The pain that coursed through her head she recognized immediately. The familiar incapacitating pain of Neural Shock, the field hit Zaeed too and they both went down. The instant migraine caused ringing in her ears and she collapsed to the ground on her back. Feet appeared in front of her, Turian feet, clad in blue and black armor. She managed to look up at the tall figure and blinked. “Oh no,” she muttered.

“Nice to see you again, Isla,” Kuril smirked standing over her with his favorite Revenant casually resting on his right shoulder. To be frank, her arrival was a very bad thing.

 

Nobody stayed conscious with a heavy dose of Neural Shock; it was a very versatile power: dialed up to maximum it could even kill a Krogan, but kept at mid-range, it was very useful for capture. It wasn’t the first time Isla, Zaeed, or Garrus, has been hit by it.

Isla woke with a groan. Her neck hurt, her head hurt, her shoulders hurt. Mostly it was how she was sitting, hands bound behind her back and slumped forward. “Fucking Neural Shock…,” she groaned.

“Oh yeah,” Zaeed agreed from her right. The old Merc was the first one awake, “still has a nice zing to it.”

“Somehow I thought you were smarter than this,” Kuril chided. “You tore up half of Omega, destroyed my ship, and you’re stupid enough to come to Joab?”

Her head was throbbing from one temple to the other. It would pass soon but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. “Nice to see you too, Kuril,” she replied casually. “Talk about me being here, what the hell are you doing here? You hate this place.”

“Oh, I’d happily be on my ship right now but your little IT tinkering saw that’d never happen,” he growled. “Do you have any idea how many men I lost trying to contain that mess? Or for that matter how many prisoners escaped?”

“Oh, you’re breaking our hearts,” Garrus said derisively. He was finally awake.

Kuril looked to the other Turian. He wasn’t familiar with him but he knew her other companion by reputation. “Zaeed Massani and I’m not sure who you are.”

“Entertainment,” Garrus fired back.

“Given the fact that half your face has been blown off and that Omega vigilante was a Turian I’m gonna say you’re Archangel,” he deduced but Garrus didn’t take his eyes away. Kuril shook his head, Zaeed he could care less about. He was a legend but Kuril cared more about Isla. “You should never have come here.”

Isla eyed him; he wouldn’t be this uncomfortable if something wasn’t wrong. “He’s here isn’t he?”

Kuril didn’t answer and walked away from her to the console. That was more than enough of an answer for her and she looked to her left toward Garrus.

“We need to get out of here,” Isla said quietly and Garrus looked over at her.

“Really? What a good idea.” The sarcasm in his voice was enough to make her want to punch him.

She gave a slight eye roll. “Omni cuffs…got any bright ideas?”

“I’m working on it,” Garrus muttered. “They’d be pretty stupid to leave me with my Omni-tool."

“Zaeed, you alright?”

“I’ve had worse,” the old Merc answered, a little bug bite to his shoulder wouldn’t slow him down.

“Isla Devereaux,” a familiar voice grated and Isla cringed, “and Zaeed Massani…you survived Zorya…how nice.”

“Vido,” Isla feigned a convincing smile, “how’s life on the run, Big Shot?”

He slapped her hard across the face. Garrus’ mandibles ticked when she took the hit but he noticed Kuril flinch when Vido slapped her. Maybe he did care about her, a potential ally against Vido. “Was that necessary?” Zaeed asked.

Vido turned his attention to Zaeed. “I’m gonna unload so much ordinance in you I’ll make sure you stay dead this time. You, I’ll turn over to the Shadow Broker,” he pointed to Garrus and then looked back to Isla. “but you…I’m gonna take my time with you. You betrayed me, Bitch,” he snarled and punched her again.

“You always did hit like a pussy,” Isla said and glared up at him.

“Ahh, yeah, can’t crack the interrogator. You never did break, no matter what I did to you.”

That made Garrus growl and Kuril’s mandibles clicked.

“Don’t touch her again,” Zaeed warned and Vido looked over to him, he succeeded in getting his attention and Vido punched him.

“Or what, Massani?” he taunted.

“Or it’ll be Dealer’s choice to see which one of us kills you first.” Garrus happily informed. With every hit Garrus watched Kuril twitch. With every crude comment toward Isla his mandibles clicked. Kuril was a rapidly growing ally.

Vido laughed. “I don’t think so…but you boys get to have a little entertainment…,” he cackled with a sickening grin and grabbed Isla by the hair yanking her head back, “if you thought I was hard on you before…you cost me _millions_ in one fucking day. I swear you’ll be begging me to sto-…” he didn’t finish his sentence as a single shot rang out. Zaeed and Isla were then splattered with something warm and sticky, brain matter and blood.

“Despicable Human,” Kuril growled quietly as he lowered his pistol. “Any male that has to force himself on a female deserves what they get,” he muttered and approached Isla, activating his Omni-tool to release the cuffs.

When the cuffs were released he found himself in a fight with the other Turian. Kuril was taller but Garrus was a little more nimble and had the mercenary on his back in no time. Kuril hit the ground with a painful crack as his armor carapace cracked the flooring. He snarled as Garrus managed to take his pistol and planted his right foot on his neck.

“Garrus, don’t kill him!” Isla barked and Garrus growled his annoyance.

“Isla, enough!” he snapped back. “You thought you could trust him on _Purgatory_ and he nearly killed you.”

“But he saved me just now,” she rebutted as Zaeed, injured or not, collected weapons and paused a moment over Vido’s body. His nemesis was dead…his only regret was that he didn’t get to pull the trigger.

“Why’d you help?” Garrus demanded and pointed the pistol at his face.

“I didn’t do it for you,” Kuril forced out past the giant foot applying just enough pressure to his throat. “I did it for her.”

Not good enough and the cop in Garrus took over. “You tried to kill her on _Purgatory_ , you captured us…why help now?”

“She lied to me on _Purgatory_. Could have killed me but she didn’t. I repaid the debt,” he answered honestly. “Kill me if you want but you don’t want to know what Vido would have done to her.”

“Can you get us out of here?” she asked and Kuril tried to nod but failed when Garrus’ foot prevented it.

“Preferably with his base a smoking crater on the way out,” Zaeed put in while applying medigel to his wound.

“I can set the base to self-destruct and clear a path to your shuttle,” he told them and it was good enough for Isla but not for Garrus and Zaeed.

“Let him go,” she said to Garrus. He may have done the right thing but he tried to kill her before or blackmail her. Garrus didn’t move and contemplated shooting him instead. “Garrus, let him go, now.”

He let him up…this was going to bite them in the ass…he just knew it. Kuril got to his feet quickly and growled at Garrus. The Turians stood inches from each other threatening to fight again. “That’s the only one you get.” Kuril warned and Garrus didn’t flinch.

He didn’t trust him and didn’t back down. “I’ll snap your neck next time. That’s a promise.”

“Boys,” Isla warned. “Kuril, where to?”

“Come on,” he replied and opened the door gesturing to the table piled with their equipment. “Get your gear.”

The other door at the far end opened as Kuril watched the rest collect their weapons and equipment. “Kuril,” a male voice barked as the Blue Suns Captain put together what he was seeing.

“Locke!” Kuril barked in return and they both shot at each other. Kuril grunted as the second shot from Locke penetrated his armor and bit into his body but his second shot took Locke’s head off at the nose. Kuril staggered back into the wall and cursed.

“Yeah, okay…someone heard that,” Garrus announced and shouldered his sniper rifle in favor of the Mattock. “Time to be useful, Warden.”

“Kuril, you’re hit,” Isla said and the Turian brushed it off.

“I’m fine,” he bit back. The typical Turian response but the wound hurt more than it should. Locke used specialized ammo…outlawed polonioum rounds. He was going to feel like crap for the next few days. “Landing pad. Your shuttle is still in the same place,” he said to Isla. “Give me two minutes and go.”

“I don’t trust him,” Garrus said when the Warden headed out. They could hear commotion as the rest of the base was trying to figure out the gunshot they’d heard. The first one coming from where the prisoners were could be chalked up to Vido being Vido…the second ones were definitely a brief gunfight.

Zaeed agreed, the boys locked eyes for a moment and in that second some extra sensory perception occurred and they were on the same page even if Isla wasn’t.

“Alright, that’s two minutes,” Garrus said sharply. He didn’t like this at all.

“I don’t hear anything,” Zaeed added. “100 credits say that jackass betrayed us.”

Isla rolled her eyes. “Will you two shut up and lets go?” she scolded and was the first one through the door.

The base wasn’t clear, they did need to fight their way out but there was still no sign of Kuril. Whatever he was doing it did seem like Garrus and Zaeed were right. “Where the hell is Kuril?” Isla questioned as they moved toward the exit.

Zaeed dropped a mercenary with a precise shot and kept moving. “I don’t like this,” he said as they kept walking. Isla knew the base and was able to lead them out from where they were. The resistance was minor but enough to make them wary of what was happening.

To be truthful, Isla felt the same. “Yeah…I’m getting that.”

They didn’t need to hack any locks or navigate security which was something Isla found odd. Most of the time this place was as tight as a drum. One of the consoles indicated a ‘Command Bypass’, her brows knitted together for a moment before understanding why she hadn’t seen Kuril. He’d bypassed the system to let them out. The landing pad was clear…none of them liked that. She unlocked the shuttle with the passcode from her Omni-tool and was surprised when Kuril appeared from around the front of it.

“Hey, what happened to the big boom?” Isla asked.

Kuril did as he said he would but now he wanted more. “Change in plans…you stay here.”

Garrus and Zaeed scoffed loudly. “I don’t think so.” said Garrus.

She groaned, it was _Purgatory_ all over again. This man always wanted more than what he had. His greed was his major flaw. “Kuril, don’t do this.” Isla pleaded.

“Do what? You betrayed us first. I killed him because he deserved it and the rest of the base would have killed me,” he said and pointed his pistol at Garrus who was getting too close for comfort.

“I’m not kidding, Kuril,” she said again this time in a sharper tone but he kept his gun trained on Garrus.

“That’s my price. You leave, she stays,” he ordered. Isla waved Zaeed off with her other hand but he ignored it.

“Don’t make me do it, Kuril,” she begged aiming her pistol at him. “Please, don’t.”

A shot rang out and she saw blood splatter across the side of the Kodiak. Kuril fell with a gunshot in his head. Isla was shocked and horrified. For better or worse he was always there to help her. “What the hell did you do!” she shouted to Zaeed.

“Sorry, Sweetheart,” Zaeed replied. “You hesitated.”

She thought about killing him, honestly thought about killing Zaeed Massani, the man who taught her all she knew over Kuril. “Come on.” She heard Garrus say. “We gotta go.”

The shuttle ride back to the _Normandy_ was a silent one, the mission was productive and, in the end, the objective was accomplished. Zaeed has his revenge even if it wasn’t he that pulled the trigger. Kuril did him a favor. Garrus sat in the co-pilot’s seat even though Isla wouldn’t talk to him either. He didn’t pretend to know the relationship that she’d had with Kuril but it was clear it was toxic. He was glad the merc was dead but what at what cost.

“How’d your end go?” Garrus asked as he saw Sidda waiting on the flight deck.

“Well, you know, Mercs, mechs, bad guys, bullets, it sucked,” she replied and noted the cold demeanor between Zaeed and Isla. “How’d it go on yours?”

“We found Vido. Vido is now dead but none of us killed him,” Garrus told her. “One of his own guys…Warden Kuril.”

Sidda’s expression narrowed. “Okay, you win. What the hell did you guys do out there?”

**

Zaeed glanced over at the door as someone entered his little haunt. It was Isla and he really wasn’t looking forward to this. He wasn’t going to say he was wrong for what he did or even apologize for it beyond what he had done after he killed him. Isla was young and the young were always stupid.

“We need to talk,” she announced and Zaeed grunted an ‘if you say so’ response.

His dismissive attitude only made her angrier. “I had it handled, Zaeed.”

“No, you didn’t,” he replied plainly as he worked on Jessie.

“Stop treating me like I’m a child!” she yelled. Isla was mad at everything right now including herself; Kuril for being so damn stupid, herself for not seeing it, and Zaeed for being the only one to have the courage to do what she couldn’t.

Zaeed dropped what he was doing. “Then stop acting like one,” he snapped back harshly, stalking toward her until she backed into the wall. “You’re smarter than that. I didn’t teach you to get your head blown off or to be taken as payment for a job. Kuril tried to kill you then he tried to keep you as payment. Stop acting like a school girl thinking with her cunt and I’ll stop treating you like a child.”

Isla thought about yelling back at him but changed her mind. When she was a kid that didn’t work very well as she always got in trouble for it. Zaeed had effectively raised her and she closed her mouth to any kind of response.

Zaeed rarely showed much emotion beyond anger but she could see in his eyes that he only ever wanted to protect her. He wasn’t there to stop Vido’s brutality but he was there to stop her from making a repeated mistake. He put his right hand on her cheek and returned to what he was doing. In his mind, it was all finished.

She left, there was nothing more to be said to the Merc, and found Garrus on his back in the main battery under a console. “Are you ever going to be finished tweaking that damn thing?” she asked.

“Nope,” he replied. “I don’t do well idle. I need to keep busy.”

“Is that why you united all the bad guys against you, idle hands?” she teased and Garrus laughed.

“Maybe,” he replied with a chuckle. “You wanna come down here and join me?”

Isla didn’t need a second invitation and laid down next to him. He was better at tech than she was but Garrus merely wanted the girl he liked next to him. “Sorry I dragged you into that.”

“Dragged me into what?” he asked.

“That mess with me and Kuril,” she said. “You were right, Kuril may have saved me but he had his own agenda for doing it.”

“Yep,” he replied and kept working on the console.

“I’m sorry. You and Zaeed were right,” she apologized and Garrus stopped what he was doing and looked over at her.

“You know, all that time on Omega when you were passing info to me and driving me crazy you never admitted that I was right,” he teased and she rolled her eyes. “That’s what I call progress.”

“God, if I’d have known you were this insufferable I’d have killed you in the warehouse when I had the chance,” she chuckled. “You going to be done with this console sometime soon or are you going to recalibrate the entire ship?”

“What brought on this feistiness?” he asked and she giggled.

“I liked watching you fight,” she said with a shrug.

“Turian females like watching their males fight too,” he said. “And they like to fight them too. I remember a mission we were preparing for, Batarian Slavers, high risk, and before we’d gone in I’d been competing with this recon specialist so we’d decided to settle it on the sparring mat.”

“I’m assuming by the way I’ve seen you fight you let her down gently,” she said and Garrus scoffed while tapping a few things on his omni-tool.

“Uhh…well, actually she and I were the top rated hands on the ship. I had reach but she had the flexibility, after nine rounds the judge finally called it a draw.” The console beeped and he flicked it with his finger. It beeped again and the lights flickered. Garrus made a face at it but kept working.

“A draw? Then what?”

“We held a tie-breaker in her quarters,” he answered and Isla grinned. “I had the reach but she definitely had the flexibility.”

“Do I have to spar with you to learn about your reach?” she asked but the undertone was enough to make him stop working.

“Uhh…no,” he answered carefully. He wasn’t exactly sure how to proceed in a way that was appropriate. He knew what he’d do with a Turian female but not with a Human one. From what he’d observed from other Human and Turian couples it wasn’t too much different. He got flustered but the blip of the console he was working on distracted him from looking at her smiling face.

**

The next stop after Joab was back to the Citadel to lend a hand to Thane. The assassin was not as she had expected, ever, and Nov was right to be a little jealous since she had developed a strong bond with the Drell. It wasn’t like Nov thought, however, their relationship wasn’t romantic but it could be if they both wanted it. Thane asked for her help and she gladly gave it. It was also a good time for the _Normandy_ to resupply and everyone to take some shore leave. Sidda and Thane made a very good team but she found an entire new depth to the Drell, his life was pain and sadness and now he was terminally ill. She couldn’t imagine what it was like to know you were going to die and trying to atone for the things you’d done before you die. Thane was by far the strongest person she’d ever known.

She tapped through some reports and files on her monitor until there was a chime at the door. “Enter,” she called and the door opened to a rather fidgety looking Garrus. “Hey, Garrus, what brings you up here?”

“I had a question to ask you,” he replied. “Sid…this is awkward…umm.”

Sidda blinked a few times and put the monitor to sleep as she stood up from the desk. “You need a drink before you strain something?”

Garrus glared. “Shut up.” He figured it was best to just pull the pin. “How do you mate with a Turian?” he blurted and closed his eyes. _“Shouldn’t have pulled the pin like that,”_ he thought.

Sidda’s expression was the best, even if he had gone about it with wrong way, her expression was worth it. “Shouldn’t you know how to do that, Garrus?”

 _“Why couldn’t this be painless?”_ he thought to himself. “I mean you. How do you do it?” That was worse.

“Didn’t know you were interested in me like that Garrus,” she snickered and winked. Garrus became even more flustered. She decided right then that teasing Garrus should be a national pastime.

He growled in annoyance. “Will you stop it, Sid,” he snarled. “I mean Humans and Turians, how does it work?”

Sidda’s giggling was annoying him but he was smart enough to realize that she was teasing the hell out of him. “You and Isla?”

“No. You and me,” he snapped back sarcastically. “I…I’ve never…we’ve never…” he didn’t finish the sentence and Sidda found his shy awkwardness completely adorable.

“I get it,” she smiled and stopped him allowing him to compose himself. “You want to sit down?”

He’d rather stand and fidget. “I don’t think that’d be a good idea.”

She chuckled as well. “So, you’ve never had…,” she paused trying to find a gentle way to put this, “relations with an alien?”

Garrus wasn’t sure why he felt embarrassed about that but he did. Contrary to Sidda’s belief he’d never slept with Leena or anyone else other than a Turian. He shook his head. “No, and I was almost afraid to put that search into the extranet.”

Sidda laughed. “Yeah…I can imagine. You want my advice, she’s the experienced one, let her lead.”

“That’s it? That’s all you got for me?”

She chuckled. “I’m not going to go into graphic detail for you, Vakarian, for the most part, the parts are all the same so just let her lead since she’s done it before. If you want more than that you can always talk to Mordin…I’m sure he’ll be happy to give you the sex talk too.”

“The what?” he asked and she waved him off.

“Nevermind. One embarrassing dose of that was quite enough,” she said. “I do suggest the shower though.” Garrus’ head cocked to the left, puzzled. “Softens the plates.”

Garrus cringed. “On that note I’m leaving.” He’d reached his quota of uncomfortable and embarrassing conversations for the day.

He turned to leave but stopped when she spoke up. “Just so you know, we’ll be at the Citadel for a day or two. Might be a good time to enjoy yourself.”

Garrus nodded and left. The _Normandy_ didn’t have much in the way of privacy, Sidda’s quarters were the most private on the ship everyone else either crashed in a closet or hot bunked.

**

Isla arrived at the hotel suite that Garrus had instructed her to come to and looked around. It was enormous and had a nice view of the nebula. “Garrus?” she called and then wandered for a few feet.

Garrus appeared from around the corner with a bottle of something in his hand. “You came,” he said and wished that he would actually think before he spoke. Lately he’d been really bad about that.

She gave him an odd look. “Of course I came.” She dropped the bag she’d brought on the floor.

tone made him blush. “I uhhh…you want a drink?” he asked trying to get over his nerves. He faced down three merc bands trying to kill him and was more nervous now than he’d ever been in his life.

“Sure,” she said and he poured her a drink as she looked out the window. “A welcome change from the _Normandy_ ,” she commented. “Little more breathing room.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Garrus said appearing next to her with a glass of Vodka for her and Turian Brandy for himself.

“Garrus Vakarian, did you bring me here to play?” she teased and Garrus purred.

“I might have,” he replied as she grinned.

“Good,” she winked.

**

Helping Thane revealed some interesting things about the Drell, his life hadn’t been easy, she knew, but what she’d witnessed was downright painful. Sidda’d returned to the Normandy briefly after receiving an urgent message from The Illusive Man. Whenever he called it was always half-truths and bullshit but she went anyway.

The door to Nov’s apartment chimed and he answered it expecting Sidda…instead he got Thane. He bristled immediately. No matter what Sidda said he was a definite threat to him.

“Well, you’re not Sidda,” Nov said. “What can I do for you?”

Thane wasn’t one to engage in the territorial behavior. He was dying and even if he wanted Sidda for the short time he had left he wouldn’t dream of putting her through that. She loved Nov and he loved her back. “I was expecting Commander Shepard to be here.”

“She had to duck back to the _Normandy_ ,” he replied and let him in, trying to be hospitable. “What do you need?”

Nov’s tone was unmistakable though he tried to mask it with politeness. “I wished to thank her for her help.”

“You’re spending a lot of time with her,” Nov said in his passive aggressive tone.

Thane was patient and wasn’t baited easily but he was still irritated just like everyone else. “She has told you and now I will tell you: you have nothing to worry about. She is a friend.”

“Better stay that way. She’s not yours, do you understand?” he warned.

Thane cocked his head slightly, this Turian was getting on his nerves but he didn’t want to give him any more reason to distrust him. If he engaged in this he’d be proving otherwise. “I didn’t realize she was property.”

Nov angered and it was reflected in his face, Thane’s words were true but he still wanted to snap at him. Or snap his neck and his problem was solved. “I’ll tell her you stopped by,” he said finally after weighing the pros and cons for everything he was thinking.

Thane gave him a nod and turned to walk away. “You might try trusting her instead of acting like a child,” he advised and left Nov ready to kill someone. Thane was right…he hated it when others were right.

Thane got back to the _Normandy_ and bumped into Sidda. After thanking her he did inform her of his encounter with Nov, and while Thane didn’t blow the conversation out of proportion, Sidda got the gist of it and she didn’t like it. Nov, like all other Turians, had a hard head.

“Hey,” Nov greeted as he saw her come in. “Just in time. Food just arrived.” He didn’t notice her demeanor as she approached and probably really should have.

Sometimes you had to just hit a Turian to get the point across…and hit him she did. Turian weren’t wired the same way Human men were; Turian’s were possessive, territorial, and aggressive. Nov was apparently no different. She gave her all with a right hook to make sure Nov felt it.

“I told you to leave Thane alone,” Sidda snapped. “I do not respond well to jealously.”

Nov heard her barking in his ear loud and clear and worked his jaw. “Oww!” he said with a growl. “Damn, Victus really taught you how to hit.”

His cavalier attitude angered her. “Actually, that was Cerrus. Do you want me to hit you again to make sure it sticks?”

He really didn’t want her to. That was a very solid hit. “Alright. Alright. I get it,” he conceded. “I’m sorry. I’ll leave him be.”

“I mean it, Cal,” she gritted out.

“I got it.”

Sidda cocked her head noticing that she actually drew blood with her hit. “You know, for a Turian, you bleed easy.”

He looked down at her trying to hide his amusement. He’d been slugged by females before but not by ones he was head over heels in love with. It just made him want Sidda that much more. “You wanna hit me again, Baby?” he purred. “I like my females feisty.”

“Don’t piss me off, Casanova,” she replied and he growled going straight for biting her neck.

“Or what?” he purred and they crashed over onto the couch breaking whatever was on the coffee table when Sidda’s foot hit it. They began laughing as she pushed up off his chest. Nov really had nothing to worry about…there was only one man in the galaxy that could turn her from him and he didn’t want her anymore.


	45. Exile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've been itching to post this one for a while I just had to get there first. I'm very proud of this chapter here so I do hope you all enjoy it.  
> Thank you for all the kudos and review. It really does mean a lot. I know several have asked where Victus is...well...wonder no more.

Mass Effect  
"Foreign Relations"

Chapter Forty Five: Exile

Garrus remembered why he didn't spar with Nov; he was damn good but no one, not even Nov, was perfect. The Spectre hit the mat hard on his back with a loud grunt. Nov groaned loudly as the pain spread across his carapace and shoulders. "Oh, I forgot you were good," he managed out, voice a bit strangled.

Garrus allowed a smile and reached down to help him up. "With you spending all your available time here don't the Spectres miss you?"

"I'd be an idiot if I thought that they didn't know where I was at," he replied.

"And they don't care that you're messing around with someone even the Council – their boss – won't help?" Garrus inquired.

"I'm not going to let her do any of this alone," he answered and Garrus accepted his answer. He'd known Nov for a long time but was never close to him. Nov got on his nerves most of the time but right now he saw that he deeply cared for Sidda and would do anything for her no matter the cost. "The Spectres and the Council can fire me if they don't like it."

"Well, it's good to know you're committed," he said and caught movement from the door.

"We're about 2 hours from the Hawking Eta system," Sidda told them. "Just came down here to watch the show."

"You want to spar, little girl?" Nov smirked. "Doubt you've gotten much practice out of him," he added and lightly punched Garrus' arm.

"Good enough to put you on your back," Garrus retorted.

"Oh that's not hard to do, I've had him on his back many times," she said Nov gave her a nearly abashed expression. His amusement won out in the end and Garrus groaned.

"Oh, Sidda, you just had to go there."

"I was referring to sparring. You two turned it dirty." She was, of course, lying. She meant to put the sexual undertone there, she was playing the innocent.

Sidda's Omni-tool beeped and she tapped it quickly. _"Shepard, could I speak to you please. It's urgent."_ Tali asked and her tone reflected the urgency.

"Yeah," she replied into the comm. "I'm on my way."

**

The chat with Tali was indeed urgent; she had been accused of betraying the Migrant Fleet and endangering it. She faced the charge of treason and a penalty of exile. The worst thing a Quarian could experience.

Sidda tabled the trip to the derelict Reaper to help Tali and she could hear The Illusive Man and Miranda bitching about it now. "Joker, prepare to change course," Sidda ordered as she stepped into the CIC scratching her head.

 _"What?"_ the pilot questioned as did Miranda.

"Change course to where?" Mirada asked in a clipped tone.

"Here are the coordinates for the Migrant Fleet," Tali said and began updating the galaxy map.

"Migrant Fleet? Commander, what is going on?"

"We need to make a detour," she said and the tapped a few things on the Galaxy Map before stepping aside for Tali.

"Commander, we need that IFF for the Omega 4 Relay," Miranda reminded and Sidda knew that.

Sidda nodded, they really did need that, they didn't need to jet off and solve the problems of the Terminus now that they had a lead. "Yes, I know that."

"Then why are we chasing after the Quarian Fleet?"

She sighed heavily. "Because Tali asked me for help," Tali had her back through thick and thin…time to repay part of that debt.

"Comm-…" Miranda began to protest before Sidda help up a hand.

"Miranda," she began with the beginnings of an aggravated tone, "it's a dead Reaper…it's not going anywhere."

 _"Uhh…Commander, there's a ship coming in. Bearing straight for us."_ Joker said and Sidda hung her head.

"God, now what? Identify."

There was a short pause before he answered. _"Squawking ident; Turian Frigate, it's the Lante."_

The look on Sidda's face said it all. Everyone on that ship she was looking forward to seeing again…except one. The important one. She looked at Tali with a raised eyebrow. "Let me guess…Cerrus?"

Tali fidgeted. "I asked him to come. In the event you couldn't help me," The Quarian replied gently.

"They're hailing, Commander," Miranda told her sounding as grouchy as ever.

She sighed and prepared herself for it. "Put it on," she said and tapped the monitor to the left of the galaxy map. The screen changed to the face of the man she had mixed feelings about seeing again.

 _"Commander."_ Victus greeted plainly.

"General," Sidda replied in kind. The iciness between them dropped the temperature in the room a few degrees.

 _"Commander, I'm here at the behest of one of my officers. If you would allow us to dock?"_ Victus said and Sidda nodded.

"Granted," she said. "Anything else?"

 _"Lante, out."_ He replied and left Sidda to sigh heavily.

"Yeah…that went well."

**

Victus was escorted from the airlock to Sidda in the Comm Room, its location was almost the same as on the _SR1_ but the layout of this ship was very different. To get to the Comm Room you had to pass through secured labs, Tech or Weapons…poor planning if you were trying to keep secrets. The _SR2_ was larger and had considerable upgrades, all in all a fine ship. A fine _Cerberus_ ship and that didn't sit well. Palaven Command would be shitting themselves if they knew he was docked with a ship run by Cerberus. The guard posted on either side of the door and it opened to reveal Sidda and…Nov.

"I have a proposition for you, Adrien," Sidda greeted and saw the General's hackles go up when he saw Nov. "Tali's little side quest aside, I have a mission we need to get to and a little help would be greatly appreciated."

"A derelict Reaper, we need to pass through the Omega 4 Relay and need a Reaper IFF so we're not obliterated on the other side," Nov informed quickly as Victus hadn't said anything as of yet.

Victus heard everything that was said but ignored it for now. "What is he doing here?" he asked gesturing to his former officer.

Nov wanted to pick a fight with him. "What you should be doing," Nov baited as Sidda rolled her eyes.

Victus boiled slowly when angered so when he did let loose it was catastrophic. Nov, despite the animosity now, was sufficiently seasoned enough to recognize the look he received from Victus. It was a very dangerous look. "I will not be baited by you. So keep yourself out of my business or I assure you, _Spectre_ , we will settle our differences now," Victus warned with a growl.

Before Nov could launch into his own rebuttal Sidda stepped in. "Cal, give us a minute." His hesitation and body language told Victus all he needed to know. Nov had proven to be a threat after all and that pissed him off.

Nov didn't want to, but in the end, he did as she asked. "You work fast. Clearly you got over me with no problem," Victus said in a clear jab toward her personal association with Nov. He wasn't stupid, he saw the signs, Nov had always been protective of her but there was far more too it now.

"Fuck you," she snapped.

"Not me," he snarled sarcastically and Sidda advanced toward him a few steps. _"Fearless as ever."_ He admired as his jealousy countermanded everything.

"One more comment like that and you can get off my ship," she warned.

This…was not going the way he had envisioned. She had moved on so quickly when it took him so long. He was mad, jealous, frustrated, and there was a fair amount of shame and regret. If he'd voiced them at all it may have made things easier but he was just as stubborn as she was, even more so, and he refused to bend to it. "How long did it take? A week? Two? Before you ran straight into his bed."

"Get off my ship," she growled. "Now!"

"You can have Cerrus to help Tali, once that's done he comes back to me and you're on your own," he finished. This was petty and spiteful behavior but every rational thought he had was bull-rushed by his myriad of emotions. He left Sidda, no doubt, seething with anger as his Cerberus guard detail kindly escorted him back to the airlock. He eyed Nov in the CIC talking with a human woman but said nothing to him. He'd kill him one of these days but not today.

**

It was definitely best that two warship didn't arrive at the Migrant Fleet so the Lante remained at a set of coordinates. After the spat with Victus, Sidda's conversations with her previous ship went through Maridus. Sidda could understand Victus' behavior, it was typical male behavior, so she filed it away to be dealt with later. Nov, however, didn't know when to quit.

He paced her as she and Cerrus were in armor but unarmed. Sidda trusted Tali and she told them no weapons except knives. "I swear I'll kill that son of a bitch."

"You are going to leave it the fuck alone, Cal, I will handle it," she ordered and he stepped in front of her abruptly.

"Stop talking to me like that. I can be a little jealous, I get that, but don't treat me like I don't have a say in anything," he snarled.

"You did not help in there. You antagonized him more than you already had."

"It is not my job to help the one who left you. You are my concern, not him, not them, you. The sooner you understand that the better everything will be. If someone talks to you like he did I _will_ get involved," Nov told her and Sidda realized that he was right. She did tend to order him around, sometimes his stubborn ass deserved it, but she nodded.

"You're right, Cal…I'm sorry," she apologized.

"Commander, any time now," she heard Cerrus bark.

Nov ignored Cerrus but Sidda didn't. "One sec," she called then returned her attention to Nov. "I'm sorry, Cal. Really," she said and rose up on her toes to kiss him. "I'll be back."

Nov was satisfied with that response and purred. "Good hunting."

"We're going over there to talk," she reminded him.

"100 credits says you'll be shooting at something before the end of the day," he responded.

**

The Quarian's weren't exactly happy to have a Cerberus tagged ship docking with one of theirs but the _Rayya_ allowed it. Decontamination procedures drug on until no microbes of any kind were left alive on their hard suits.

"Captain Danna," Tali began as she addressed the male in the center of the detail that greeted them. "It is good to see you again."

"I wish it was under better circumstances, Tali'Zorah. Despite it all, welcome home."

"By my order, Captain Shepard, no one from your crew is to set foot on this ship unless escorted and cleared. You are a Cerberus vessel after all."

"Understood," Sidda nodded to the tall Quarian male Tali identified as Captain Kar'Danna. "And technically I'm not even a Commander. I'm no longer Alliance military," she clarified.

"You command the _Normandy_ and are responsible for the lives of the crew; you are a captain and that entitles you to great respect among our people," he explained.

"Thank you, Captain Danna."

"As Tali's commanding officer, your voice will carry weight with the trial."

"What trial, Kar, what is this all about?" Cerrus asked in a stern tone. He'd met Danna before a little over a year ago and hand nothing against him. Tali's father didn't like him but Danna did.

Danna hesitated looking between Cerrus and Tali. "Tali'Zorah has been charged with treason for bringing active Geth back to the Flotilla."

"What? That's insane. I only sent pieces and parts for research," Tali replied, shocked.

"What now?" Sidda asked trying to drive this forward.

"Technically, I'm tasked with placing Tali under arrest so you're confined to the ship until this is all over. The hearing is being held in the Garden Plaza and will begin immediately. Good luck."

Cerrus garnered several strange looks from the crew on the _Rayya_ , Turians weren't uncommon but it was still strange to see them and he'd been on this ship before. They'd met Tali's family…Rael didn't like him at all but Danna and Raan did. They weren't her blood family but they were close. He listened as Raan told them vaguely about what was happening. The _Neema_ , Tali's home ship, were distancing themselves from her by changing her name to vas _Normandy_. Not a good sign and it angered him. Anyone who thought Tali was a traitor needed their head examined. He bristled at the notion that Sidda, as the Normandy captain, was going to be speaking for her. He preferred if they let him do it but he wasn't a Captian and Tali trusted Sidda, he did as well…on some level.

The Quarian ships were generational, gave them a real lived-in look but it couldn't be helped when they didn't have a home of their own to go back to. Cerrus read on Quarian history and listened when Tali talked to him about it. He wanted them to fight and take back their home but on the same hand they didn't exactly have numbers to spare for war.

The Conclave was brought to order and Cerrus had a bad feeling about this, they had left something out and he didn't see Rael with the other Admirals. "Something's wrong, Tali," he warned.

"The accused, Tali'Zorah vas _Normandy_ has come before us with her Captain to defend herself against the charge of treason," Raan intoned formally and the Admiral in the middle already had something to say.

"I object!" Koris exclaimed. "A human has no business taking part in a hearing with such sensitive military matters."

"You stripped her name," Cerrus said quickly drawing everyone's attention, "as Captain of the _Normandy_ , Shepard has the right to attend."

"And who are you to dictate policy to us?" Koris hissed to the Turian.

"I am Tali's mate and I will stand with her even against baseless accusations such as this," Cerrus challenged with venom in his tone.

Raan stopped this before it became about Cerrus challenging Koris. "The Major is correct, Admiral, Shepard must stay. As for the validity of the charges…shall we begin? Captain Sidda Shepard vas _Normandy_ , your crewmember stands accused of treason will you speak for her?"

"It will be my genuine pleasure. I regret that her Captain has apparently been forbidden to speak on her behalf," Sidda stated and that managed to set off an argument between Koris and an Admiral Cerrus recognized, Han'Gerral. Raan managed to rein them all back in and keep it on track and Tali began to explain just what she had been doing. She returned disable pieces of Geth tech back to the fleet for study as he father had ordered.

As she spoke Cerrus observed the Admirals, Gerral he knew…not well but he knew him. He was pro-military and charged with commanding the heavy fleet, the bulk of their military power. He clashed with Zaal'Koris, Cerrus didn't know him but from what he saw he was trying to convict Tali of treason and exile her. The third Admiral was a female and had said nothing so far…she actually looked bored with it all.

"Then explain how the Geth seized the lab ship where your father was working!" Koris ordered and that brought Cerrus from his observations.

"What are you talking about? What happened?" Tali asked while Gerral clearly glowered at Koris for dropping the bomb like that.

"As far as we can tell, Tali, the Geth have taken control of the _Alarei_ and killed all those on board…your father included," Gerral explained in a gentler fashion than Koris less than tactful way.

"Keelah…" Tali said in a tone of fear and sadness as she hung her head.

"If they've seized a ship of yours you have to make sure your fleet is secured," Sidda said and now it was Cerrus' turn to glare at someone and it fell on Sidda. "The _Normandy_ stands ready to render any kind of assistance."

"Shepard, we need to take back the _Alarei_ ," Tali said, something was wrong with all of this. It shouldn't be happening.

"The safest course is to destroy the ship, but if you are looking for an honorable death-…" Koris said before Tali cut him off.

"I'm looking for my father, you Bosh'tet!" Tali shouted back infuriated by Koris' mere existence right now.

This was getting out of hand and the idea of going over there to get to the bottom of this appealed to both Sidda and Cerrus.

"Admiral, may I speak?" Cerrus asked politely but in a tone that could be heard of the noise of the proceedings and the arguing between Koris and Gerral.

"Of course." Raan nodded as the noise died down. "State your name for the record please."

"Tyr Cerrus, Major, Palaven Special Forces," he rattled off quickly. "You want to know the truth of what happened then let us go to that ship and find out. You owe it to Tali and if you really want justice to be served then let us help."

"Admirals, the three of us combine have more experience fighting Geth then anyone in recent memory," Sidda said agreeing with Cerrus' suggestion.

The board agreed and Tali had some serious words for all the Admirals involved as did Cerrus. They were given permission to retrieve weapons from the _Normandy_ but Tali had to stay on the _Rayya_.

**

Cerrus' weapons stayed on the _Lante_ so he opened Garrus' locker knowing that they had pretty much the same loadout preferences. Garrus would be miffed if his weapons didn't return but Cerrus had no intention of leaving them behind.

"What is this?" he asked as he handled the Mattock.

"That's a Mattock, you'll love it," Nov said from the door. "I gather it did not go well," he said jovially, watching them load up.

"Well, let's just say I owe you 100 credits," Sidda answered and he laughed. "Major?"

Cerrus did a quick check over the black sniper rifle that was Garrus' baby and nodded. "We're good," he said and collected Tali's weapons and extra gear. He brushed by them and headed back to the airlock.

"Isn't that Garrus' stuff?" Nov asked and Sidda nodded.

"Don't tell him until we get back." She replied.

"Need backup?"

Sidda shook her head, the less people on this the better, though if things got sticky on the lab ship she'd be singing an entirely different tune. "No. We're good. Hold the fort, Baby, we'll be back."

She didn't tell them what they were going to be shooting at but he'd hazard a guess, Geth. "Good hunting," he called after her, repeating the same thing he said before she left.

**

They returned to the _Rayya_ and found Tali talking with Kal'Reeger. Sidda remembered Reeger from Haestrom and he looked to be up and well, having healed from his injuries.

"Reeger," Cerrus greeted handing Tali her gear, "nice to see you again."

"You as well, Major," the Quarian Marine replied and shook his hand. "Nice move requesting to retake the lab ship. Hope you find what you need."

"You think I'm innocent?" Tali asked and the Marine nodded.

"Even told the Admirals, that didn't help much as it seems," he said and could see the Admirals impatiently waiting for them to depart. "Good luck over there, Tali."

The _Alarei_ was a mess, dead Quarians littered the halls, the Geth were efficient bastards. There were more Geth then there really should have been.

Cerrus listened to Sidda and Tali bicker over the basic differences but he didn't hold it against Sidda. Tali wanted to help herself but not at the expense of her people or her father. Cerrus even found himself frustrated by it.

They found Rael; he was dead though Tali was convinced that was wrong. "You wouldn't just die like this and -…"

"Tali. Tali," Cerrus said gently and pulled her into his arms around from the body of her father. So far it all pointed to Rael being responsible for all this, networking Geth and losing control over it. He caused his own death and now Tali was on the hook for it. "It's alright."

"Damnit…" she sobbed. "I'm sorry, Shepard."

"Sorry about what? None of this was your fault."

She pushed away from Cerrus and knelt down next to her father. "Maybe he left a message somewhere. Maybe he knew I would come," she said and tapped his Omni-tool. It lit up and began to play the recording. A recording that damned him and Tali, Rael did it all. He activated the Geth and caused the destruction of the Alarei. He didn't leave a personal message to her even though he knew he was going to die he just left her instructions on how to fix it.

Cerrus was the last person to talk about family, he lost his father when he was 9, his mother died a few years after Anara died, and all he had left now were his brothers and their families but he hadn't seen them in quite some time. If he couldn't fix his own family's short-comings he'd damn sure try to fix hers.

Tali focused, although she knew she felt the fact that her father was dead. He wasn't warm and cuddly with her and that was a source of pain for her. He always treated her like a soldier, the same way Cerrus' mother treated him and his brothers.

Taking the bridge was an event, the angle was terrible and there was cover in all the wrong places. It was small so the number of Geth and their numbers didn't matter. The Prime was the target but it had protection in rocket troopers, and Hunters, not to mention the standard troops. Cerrus' target was the Prime but was soon swarmed causing Tali to drop her drone to draw them away. Some of them fell for it but not all. He managed to clear the ones attacking him but followed the rule he learned on the Citadel: Don't go hand to hand with a machine.

Sidda had her own problems as the Prime and two hunters had her pinned. "Cerrus!" she shouted and he caught the Ark Projector flying at him. "Take it out!"

He barely heard her over Tali's shotgun barking repeatedly but with Sidda entertaining the majority of the party he let the heavy weapon do its job. The energy released from it arched from one enemy to the other taking out all but the Prime itself. It took a second hit from it to finish it off but it finally fell.

"Oh yeah…" Sidda said from her position on one knee, "that was fun. Tali, kill the uplink…make sure nothing else springs up."

Cerrus grabbed Sidda's arm and helped her to her feet. He could see lots of scraps on her chest piece; she took a few hits from the Prime. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she replied. "I hate Geth."

Cerrus agreed and handed the Ark Projector back. "I like that."

**

While the _Normandy_ was docked Nov poked through the ship. He passed though the armory that had been pillaged by Cerrus, seeing Garrus noticed that his gear was gone, then went into the Tech Lab to fiddle with some stuff. Mordin was there, as usual, working diligently. Mordin was a mystery for him. He was a Salarian with an STG background, which wasn't particularly unusual, but it was things that he had said that made him wonder. He tried working but didn't get far, he was distracted.

"Can I ask you a question, Doctor?" Nov asked politely and the Salarian looked up from his work briefly with an affirming grunt. "You said you worked with a female Cabal. Why?"

"Part of a mission. Joint between STG and the Hierarchy," he replied quickly but Nov had trouble accepting that. Salarians and Turians didn't usually pair off for missions or joint strikes. Turians and Asari were normally the muscle and Salarians were the intel.

"Why? What was the mission?"

Mordin was curious as to why Nov was asking. "Classified mission. Why do you ask?"

"Where?"

"Again, cla-…"

"Doctor, this is important." Nov's tone was an honest one and Mordin's curiosity got the better of him.

"Tuchanka. 2176."

Nov tapped his omni-tool and a holo image appeared. "Was that her?" he asked and let Mordin look at the image. The service record image that those close to Cerrus usually had saved on their omni-tool…just in case.

Mordin blinked and then gave Nov a strange look. "Why do you ask, Spectre?"

"Doctor, please," he replied as his heart nearly roared through his chest.

The Salarian weighed his options; he wasn't clear on why Nov was asking him this. Wasn't sure why anyone was interested in something that happened nearly 10 years ago. "Yes."

Nov closed his eyes and cursed in his head. "What happened?"

"Who was she?" Mordin insisted instead.

"Maj. Cerrus' mate." Mordin straightened at the news. His brief encounter with Cerrus made the mission flood back to him, everything even the memory of what he did rushed back in perfect clarity. "Tell me what happened."

"I can't." He could…but it was probably better that he didn't. He wasn't STG anymore but there was still the military discipline for classified operations. Secrets weren't secrets if they were told to everyone who asked.

"She didn't return from that mission, Doctor, Cerrus has gone 10 years without knowing what happened because it is so well classified our General couldn't even find out more information. Ten years…no closure…no explanation," Nov said in a tone that said he wasn't going to let this go.

Mordin thought a moment, considering his options and consequences. Turians were lethal in a fight and upset Turian males were even worse. "I believe your military refers to it as: Priority Black," he answered finally.

Nov knew what that was; he'd done a Priority Black mission three times in his entire career. "You killed her." Priority Black was a military order meaning to kill certain personnel at the end of a mission to protect a person or intelligence. He'd been the trigger twice and it was part of being Special Forces. Victus and Maridus too had been the triggers before too.

"That is all I will say," the Salarian added noticing the Turian was completely taken aback. "Please leave, Spectre Nov."

**

The ride back to the _Rayya_ was spent with Tali asking both Cerrus and Sidda to not say anything to the Admiralty Board about her father's gargantuan mistake. Rael wanted his work to go to Xen and Garrel but Tali didn't even want that. Cerrus and Sidda both agreed that an attack on the Geth would be the Death Knell for the Quarians. In the end Cerrus would do as Tali asked but Sidda was the wild card.

They returned to the _Rayya_ as it seemed they were ready to render a verdict. In all honesty it did take some extra time to wade through the Geth and retake it.

"Could have waited," Cerrus snarked.

"We apologize." Gerral said sounding a little sheepish. "Your return was…unexpected."

"Spectacular," Sidda grumped. "You can go and get your ship now."

"Did you find any information on what happened, Tali?"

"Only that his whole thing is a sham. You don't know what happened so you slap a hero of yours, someone who instrumental in stopping Saren, Sovereign, and the Geth with treason even though you don't have all the facts. Anybody who knows Tali knows that she'd never endanger the Fleet," Sidda said in a tone that was meant to be forceful. "We didn't find any evidence over there just experiments that went wrong. If you exile her you'll prove that this is more about political gain than anything else."

Cerrus was actually pretty proud of her in that moment. She said exactly what he was thinking without compromising Tali's wishes.

"Tali'Zorah," Raan began, "in light of your service record we find there is not enough evidence to convict. Therefore, you are cleared of all charges with our apologies and are free to go."

**

Garrus was waiting in the armory when they returned and he held his hands out to the side when he saw Cerrus. "That's called stealing, you know," he said and Cerrus shrugged it off.

"I brought it back so it's actually called 'borrowing'." He handed the sniper rifle back first. "That's a fine weapon, Garrus," he complimented.

It was Garrus' favorite gun, a gift from Sidda, and it saved him life more times than he could count. "They don't make them like they used to," he said and Cerrus agreed.

Sidda stowed her weapons listening to Garrus and Cerrus talk about guns before she was startled by the sudden appearance of Nov. "We need to talk," he said quickly and made it a point to not look at Cerrus at all.

"In a minute," Sidda replied but he insisted even before she finished her sentence.

She could remove her armor later but this couldn't wait. "Right now," he demanded and led her away from the rest. He said nothing to her as they took the left up to her quarters and then still nothing until the door behind them was closed.

"Cal?" she questioned, something was obviously wrong. He was pacing, he seemed upset and maybe a little angry. "Cal, what's wrong?"

"I just solved a decade old mystery, Babe," he replied quickly as he paced.

She stepped in front of him to stop him. "Cal," she said clearly to get him to focus, "what is it?" Nov was usually a very calm person, taking everything in stride, but this time he was clearly upset.

"How much do you know about Cerrus' mate?" he asked abruptly.

Sidda blinked mildly confused as why this topic had him so upside down. "Umm…she died on an op in 2176. Why?"

"Mordin," he said. "I asked Mordin about a female Cabal that he went on a mission with…"

Sidda remembered his story from when she was getting to know him and his past deeds, credentials, as it were, for being on the _Normandy_ for this. "Yeah…joint mission with Salarians and Turians, one Cabal escort that he…" she trailed off as it dawned on her. "Mord-…she…? The Cabal that he killed was Cerrus' wife!"

"Yes."

"Oh my god," Sidda said and could understand why Nov was acting the way he was. Cerrus was unpredictable on a good day…if he ever found out the result would be disastrous.

For as long as he'd known Cerrus this was the only thing he wanted answers to. Now he had them and there was only one decision. "I have to tell him."

That was bad idea, bad only in the sense that it could explode all over everyone. "No, wait, wait, wait." She chased after him and stopped him at the door.

Nov was confused with her reaction. "What do you mean, wait?" Sidda, despite her friction with Cerrus, was always sensitive to his situation. No one should have to endure what he had but now she was telling him no.

"I mean wait and think about this."

"Think about what?"

"You tell Cerrus and I guarantee you he kills Mordin and then probably me next," she spelled it out for him.

Nov's posture turned confrontational. "How'd you jump to that conclusion?"

Her answer was honest. "I'd want to kill him and he doesn't like me much anyway."

Nov was offended on behalf of his friend and it showed. "Sidda, I love you more than anything else in the universe, but Tyr is not your enemy. He's not a mindless killer. You give him too little credit, you always have," he said in a staunch tone. "I'm telling him. With or without your blessing."

Nov left listening to her protest. "Callus!" she called but he ignored her. She grimaced, not looking forward to any of this at all. "Fuck."

**

"This weapon is amazing," Cerrus praised, looking over a disassembled Mattock that Isla was working on.

"Doesn't need modifications. It's highly accurate, and so far, very reliable," she told him. "Garrus only modified the scope and the barrel on his, in case you were wondering."

"Damn."

The door opened and Cerrus saw Nov looking a little unsettled. "Tyr, I need to talk to you."

Cerrus nodded and moved away back toward the lockers. He used Garrus equipment so he made sure it was all squared away. They were far enough away from Isla's station and Nov continued to look unsettled. "Hey," he said and put a hand on his arm to stop him from pacing, "what's going on?"

"I know who killed Anara," Nov blurted and Cerrus blinked. He never expected that.

"What?"

"It was something that he said and I finally got it out of him-…" Nov babbled before Cerrus put his hands on his shoulders.

"Who, Cal?" he asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Mordin. STG mission with Palaven Command, one Cabal escort." He explained, admittedly a little disjointed. "I showed him Anara's service picture, it was her," he went on. "Mordin killed Anara as a part of a Priority Black mission from Palaven Command."

Cerrus' was stunned. He stepped away and let his mind absorb as much of it as he could. A thousand questions went through his mind and he didn't hear what Nov said after that, not completely. What he got from it was that Mordin had admitted it to him but refused to speak more of it. After the Blackwatch disaster Cerrus vowed to kill the person responsible for her death and he retreated to that mindset. "Give me a minute," he said after a long silence.

Nov wasn't sure that was a good idea. "Tyr, are you-…"

He cut him off, getting angrier. "I said give me a minute," he repeated slower.

Cerrus calmly walked over to the bench near Isla. The weapons were secured apart from the ones that were being were being worked on. The Carnifex on the table was intact it just needed a thermal clip. He was casual about picking it up and loading it.

"Hey," Isla questioned having detected a significant change in his vibe, "what are you-…" before she finished the question Cerrus hit her hard in the face with his right forearm. Still wearing armor he put enough force behind it to nearly knock her out. She staggered back and fell to the floor, dazed.

Nov heard the commotion. "Hey!" he called to Cerrus but by the time he got to him the door to the inner corridor closed. "Cerrus!" he shouted and tried to open it but it sparked and the light changed to red and flickered. "Son of a bitch! EDI!"

_"I have been monitoring. Control systems have been sabotaged. Attempting bypass."_

"Sidda," Nov called into his Omni-tool, "get up here, we have a problem." He headed over to Isla to make sure she was okay. Her nose and mouth were bleeding but she was still somewhat conscious. "Slowly. Slowly. You okay?"

"What the hell?" she mumbled.

"I'm sorry…I really should have seen that coming," he admitted.

Cerrus entered the Tech Lab before EDI could lock him out then tapped the same key on his Omni-tool causing the doors to fritz out same as the Armory door. _"Major, this action is unacceptable."_ EDI admonished.

"I know," he replied and turned to the only other person in the Lab with him. Mordin watched the Turian. "You and I are going to have a talk, Doctor," Cerrus said quietly and the Salarian eyed him. He read his demeanor and deduced quickly that this wasn't going to be a friendly chat. "I want to know what happened to my mate."

Mordin was silent as he thought of how to handle this. "I have nothing to say on that matter as I told Spectre Nov," Mordin replied.

That was not the answer he wanted to hear and it only made him angrier. The Turian raised the weapon in his right hand. "Her name was Anara Cerrus, wore Chatti colony paint. Codename Gallion," he growled but Mordin remembered all that except her name. He only knew her by her codename. "Tuchanka. 2176. You tell me what happened now or I will kill you."

Mordin still hadn't moved from where he was. "The mission was STG classified. Rumors that there was a mutation in the Genophage sparked concern. Genophage no longer as effective prompted STG and Palaven Intelligence to conduct a fact finding mission. Mission parameters gave one Cabal as escort," he told him. "Further parameters given to me…your people call it Priority Black. They set the order. Upon determination that the Genophage required alteration I was to eliminate my escort."

The level of betrayal he felt couldn't be put into words and the thousands of questions he had dissipated into one. Priority Black…his own government ordered her death. "How did she die?"

Translation: how did you kill her? "Clean and painless," Mordin answered delicately. "One shot. Back of the head." Cerrus' heart broke all over again as he listened to Mordin. The thought of it nearly broke him. "I thought very highly of her, Major. Very kind. She enjoyed music and cooking. Wanted to modify a Salarian recipe I told her about to make for her mate."

Cerrus wanted to pull the trigger, wanted to avenge her. With every fiber of his being he wanted to kill this man.

Sidda joined Nov at the interior door to the Tech Lab as he had the panel to the right off trying to unlock it. "So, you told him," Sidda snapped at Nov. "How's that going for you?"

"Later," Nov snarled. "EDI, get this damn door open."

_"Working. Maj. Cerrus did well in sabotaging the system."_

"How'd he know how to do that?" Sidda asked only further irritating Nov.

"Because he's not stupid," he snapped. "It's one of my programs I gave to everyone. EDI!"

 _"Stand by."_ The AI replied with a hint of irritation of her own. _"The sabotage is efficient."_

"Thanks for that, Cal," Sidda sniped and the Turian rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Nov loved Sidda with all his heart but right now he really hated his girlfriend. "Will you save that for later?" he snapped loudly.

The door finally opened and the Sidda and Nov appeared. They got to see a simple scene of Cerrus standing across the lab console from Mordin's usual station holding a gun to his head.

"Cerrus, put the gun down," Sidda ordered but he ignored it. "Cerrus," she repeated and Nov put a hand on her arm.

"Did you leave her on Tuchanka?" Cerrus asked ignoring the fact that he had an audience now.

"Yes," Mordin answered honestly taking a gamble on the fact that so far Cerrus only wanted the truth. The fact that he was armed didn't seem to be as much of a problem unless he lied to him or tried to deny it. "There is no grave for her, Major. Her body likely claimed by the Tuchanka desert long ago. I am sorry, Major."

Nov observed Cerrus, he was a volatile person given the right stimulus and he had every right to kill Mordin right now. "Tyr," he began quietly, "you're not a murderer. Put the gun down."

Cerrus wanted to, he really wanted to. The thought about her last minutes, the idea that she was shot in the back of the head by someone she had gotten to know, maybe even trusted, angered him. He thought of her left on that radioactive rock to be claimed by the desert. It crushed him to learn that his own superiors ordered this and then redacted all information. They didn't even have the decency to tell him the truth. But here in front of him was the person who actually killed her…all he had to do was pull the trigger. He was so conflicted the pistol in his hand started to shake, he gripped it so tight they almost heard it creak. Spirits, did he want to pull the trigger but the other thing he thought about was what Anara would want him to do. He let out a frustrated, pain filled yell, and then slammed the Carnifex down on the lab table between them before leaving the Lab without a word to anyone. Mordin was following orders, that was what Anara would have told him.

**

Cerrus ran as far as he could on the frigate, trying to get away, trying to hide and found himself on the subdeck. He should have killed him. At least Anara would have been avenged in some way. People thought of him a mindless killer anyway so why not feed the stereotype. He should have just pulled the trigger. He roared his anger and hit the wall hard enough he felt it clean up into his shoulder and hit the wall again.

"Hey! What the hell…" a female voice exclaimed and he spun aggressively to see who interrupted him. It was the Human called Jack. Tali had told him about her, troubled Human biotic who did everything she could to keep to herself. Jack's body glowed blue and he realized that he was about to attack her and stopped himself.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly sounding more ashamed of his potential action then anything else. He wasn't a mindless killer.

This was the Turian that Sidda didn't get along with and she saw the violence in him. "Are you okay?" Jack found herself asking.

Cerrus saw the cot through the piping in the wall and realized he was standing in her quarters. "No," he answered truthfully. He was quite certain he'd never be okay after this. People he trusted lied to him for nearly 10 years. "I'm sorry…I just wanted to be alone."

"Ship's too small for that, Man," she replied. Jack wasn't totally insensitive and could tell he wasn't playing with her and also could tell that he needed help. "Take all the time you need," she told him. "Just try not to tear out the bulkhead."

When Tali found him it was because Jack let her know he was down in the subdeck. After his initial outburst he hadn't made so much as a peep. He was sitting in the dark corner ignoring everything except the image of Anara on his Omni-tool.

When she approached him she wasn't sure he even knew she was there, he was just staring at the image. "Hey," she announced and he tapped the Omni-tool sharply shutting off the image. "Shepard told me what happened. I'm so sorry, Tyr."

He held out his right hand and she took it letting him guide her down next to him. "I should have killed him."

Tali disagreed. "No. You would have regretted it." She was right. "Out of curiosity…why didn't you?"

Cerrus knew he had that reputation to shoot first and ask questions later. This time he asked the questions first…in time he'd forgive himself for doing it. "He was following orders."

"That's how I know you aren't a killer," she said as he put his arm around her.

Cerrus wasn't so sure. He'd been in the military a long time and had done horrible things to the point it didn't bother him as much. A bad sign. "I wanted to…even after he told me."

"You're a good person, Tyr," she said, "and I love you." It was the wrong time to bring up that he called her his mate during his candid statement to the Conclave. All they had been lacking was the ceremony to make it official.

He was glad to have her, lucky to have her really, and accepted her opinion of him. "I love you too, Tali."

"Shepard said an hour until we meet up with the _Lante_ ," she added and Cerrus remained where he was.

"I think I'll just stay here," he said as he thought about what was next. His future had always been set: career military just like his brothers and his mother. Now…he wasn't so sure.

**

The _Normandy_ found the _Lante_ right where they left them and Cerrus was over onto the ship in a hot minute. He didn't talk to anyone except Tali and now he was bound for Victus in the War Room. "Clear out," he ordered and Victus looked up from the map table when he heard the order. The crew looked from Cerrus to Victus and Cerrus barked his order again. "Now!"

They cleared out leaving Victus to give his officer a curious expression. "Major?"

"Did you know?" Cerrus demanded and Victus blinked…he apparently missed part of this conversation.

"Did I know what?" he asked genuinely confused.

"I know what happened to Anara," he said and Victus gave him an odd look.

"What? How?"

"The Salarian who killed her is on the _Normandy_ ," he snarled trying to keep his emotions in check. "She was killed during a STG and Palaven Intel joint mission tagged as Priority Black."

Victus' expression changed, he'd been a trigger on a few of those missions. No one ever liked them but if she was killed on one of those and then it was classified like that he didn't want to know what the government was trying to cover up. "Spirits…what was the mission?"

"You telling me you didn't know, _General_?" Cerrus hissed and Vicus took a step toward him.

"Major, if I'd have known I would have told you, now stow the accusations and tell me what happened," he scolded with the authoritative tone that made Cerrus back off.

"Palaven Command killed my mate," he said going from angry to completely crushed. "They killed her to protect their secret about the Genophage."

"What secret?"

"The Genophage mutated, became less effective," he answered sharply. "If you want to know more ask Mordin Solus."

"If the Genophage mutated it would definitely be something both governments would want to protect." Victus commented ignoring how snarky his officer was. "I'll talk to Fedorian."

"Don't bother," Cerrus replied and handed him the pad in his hand. "I resign."

The words hit Victus like a brick. Cerrus was career military just like he was. After everything he'd been through Victus thought Cerrus would make General, despite his colored past. As it sunk in he realized Cerrus was walking away. "Major, stop," he ordered loudly and Cerrus grudgingly did so. "I know you're angry and feel betrayed but do not do something you'll regret," he told him moving around in front of him.

"I will not work for the people who ordered her death," he replied firmly and left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the first draft of this part of Foreign Relations I had this little mystery remain unsolved. That changed when I evolved Cerrus' character. I'm still pleasantly surprised with how many readers really love him. 
> 
> Song used while I wrote out Cerrus in this chapter is Awake by Godsmack


	46. The Derelict

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this one took my brain and ran. I had a lot of fun with it to be honest. Thank you so much for the reviews on the last chapter I was happy y'all enjoyed it. Cerrus is a complicated fellow and he sure as hell isn't perfect and neither are Victus and Nov.
> 
> Music I listened to for this chapter are  
> Come With Me Now by the Kongos  
> Awake by Godsmack  
> Walk by the Foo Fighters

Mass Effect  
"Foreign Relations"

Chapter Forty Six: The Derelict

 

It had been a very long day for everyone involved. Cerrus, Tali, Sidda…it was an emotional rollercoaster even for the people who merely watched. Sidda still had a mission to do but she needed to put the people on the ship back together first. She found Nov in the training room and leaned on the wall watching him take on a punching bag with a mix of Turian and what looked like Human moves. He did tell her that he spent a little time on Earth after she'd died but he never really told her to what extent. It took a moment but he did finally see her and staggered a few punches before stopping entirely.

"Oh please don't do the 'I told you so' speech," Nov groaned as he worked his shoulder in a few tight rolls before going back to the punching bag.

Sidda chuckled, he couldn't be more wrong. The 'I told you so' was voiced already in admittedly bad form. "Actually, I came to apologize."

He was setting up for another round but gave her a confused look. "Eh?"

"I've been a real bitch lately."

Nov shrugged, he'd noticed but it wasn't a big deal for him. "You said it not me."

"You were right about telling Cerrus even though that didn't go so well. You also don't deserve to be yelled at just because I'm having a bad day…week…year…two…"

"Spar with me and all is forgiven," he said and she furrowed her brow.

He was definitely too good to be true. "Damn you're easy."

"Don't tell anyone," he replied with a wink and she looked confused. "I just don't see the point of being angry over petty things," he explained and she stepped away from the wall to the middle of the room.

Sparring with Nov was always fun, he was the first Turian on the _Lante_ to fight her. He beat her, of course, but he saw her resolve even then. Victus was the one who taught her most of what she knew but Nov was fun.

He purred as he trapped her with her back to his chest, his right hand drifted down and he caressed her breasts. This was the other thing about sparring with Turians in general…couples used it as foreplay which was what he was doing right now. "Mmm…you smell nice."

He let his guard down and she used that opportunity and threw him over her shoulder. He landed with a thud and he was on his feet in seconds.

"Spar. Not fuck," she clarified but his expression said it all. He wanted to play with her.

He saw very little distinction. "Can't we do both?" he asked with a smirk.

"Cal…" she warned trying to hide a chuckle. He was now stalking her, typical male Turian behavior…Victus had done this a lot. "Cal…"

"Sid," he replied in kind. "You don't want me to take you then you better win."

She laughed at the terms he set. "Brazen bastard." She smiled, and he attacked her.

Sidda may not have had the best practice lately against Turians but she still remembered everything they taught her. Victus was an excellent teacher as was Nov. Nov loved sparring with her, she was so good but just as clever as he was, at the moment she was beating him at his own game with his own techniques.

She straddled his waist after laying him out and smiled as she leaned over him. "I win," she gloated quietly and Nov didn't mind losing to her if she gloated like this.

"Claim your prize then," he said and she giggled kissing him. She felt him run his hands up her sides and then cradle her as he rolled her on her back. He went straight for her neck as she squirmed under him. His teeth raked her skin and he resisted the urge to leave a permanent mark. "Not here," she told him but he ignored it. "There are cameras."

Nov pushed up onto his knees and his Omni-tool lit up. He tapped a few keys and it spat back a noise often associated with jamming or disabling technology. "Not anymore," he replied. "It'll take EDI an hour to dig that out."

"You criminal," she chuckled.

**

Nov really should have taken that escapade to her quarters but it was fun none the less. It didn't take EDI an hour to undo Nov's mischief but it did take 53 minutes. By then she informed Sidda that The Illusive Man wanted to speak with her. Lucky for them both they'd finished their fun and were not indisposed. She had a stinging scratch on her neck but would deal with it later.

"Alright, EDI, put it through," she ordered as she stepped into the Comm room and onto the QEC.

 _"Why haven't you gotten the IFF?"_ The Illusive Man asked immediately when the link was established and Sidda sighed.

"Been putting out fires," she replied flatly. It had been a bit busy lately.

The Illusive Man went through the cigarette in just a few drags. Clearly irritated. _"I would hate to think that you are wasting my time, Shepard. I gave you good intelligence and you're squandering it."_

Sidda cocked her head and scoffed. "That's some nerve. Every time you give me good intelligence I always feel like I have a target painted on my back."

 _"Commander,"_ he warned.

"Things go wrong every time I follow one of your leads so forgive me if I'm a little hesitant to go get my ass shot off," she went on and The Illusive Man sighed.

 _"Commander,"_ he warned again.

"I'll get it," she assured him. In the end, she wanted to stop the Collectors and the Reapers…so did he.

The Illusive Man's confidence in her was dwindling. _"Now, Commander, do not test my patience,"_ he said and the QEC went dark.

 _"You should sleep, Commander."_ EDI advised.

"Yeah," she agreed, she was at close to 48 hours without sleep.

 _"Commander, Victus is requesting to come aboard and speak with you."_ Joker said and Sidda groaned as the Comm room returned to its typical layout.

"Terrific," she muttered, sounding more annoyed than anything else. "Alright, have him escorted to the Comm Room." At least Nov wasn't present this time to antagonize another jealous male.

"You look exhausted," Victus observed and she looked up at him from across the table.

"Kind of my natural state lately," she replied tiredly. "What's going on? Joker said you wanted to talk."

"Cerrus," he said and Sidda sighed heavily with a groan. "He's refusing to return to the _Lante_. He wants to resign his commission and stay here."

Sidda couldn't blame Cerrus for his actions and found it damn odd that she was siding with him. "If Cerrus wants to stay onboard I'm not going to stop him." She said casually, though the fact he wanted to stay on the _Normandy_ struck her as odd.

Victus glared at her and was getting frustrated. "It's desertion, Commander," he snapped.

Sidda shrugged. "I can't say I blame him. His superiors murdered his wife and then covered it up. I'd resign too."

In all honesty, he could understand the feeling. He would have done or tried to do the same thing. "I didn't accept his resignation."

Victus always was stubborn but he had his reasons for it. If he saw potential in his officers he fought for them. He saw the potential in Cerrus years ago and took him on when everyone else wouldn't touch the damaged officer. "So, as of right now, you're the only one standing in his way," she bit back and saw Victus' scowl deepen.

"Damnit, they could execute him," he replied with a louder tone then he intended.

Sidda cocked her head. "Execution for desertion? That's a little harsh," she commented, genuinely curious.

"A Turian's first duty is to serve. Desertion carries a maximum sentence of execution on Palaven depending on circumstances," Victus replied in a normal tone but the demeanor between them was cold. Very cold, he consistently referred to her by her rank…a way to keep her at a distance.

Sidda sighed. "Alright, I'll talk to him," she said and found that her being the voice of reason to Cerrus more than a little strange. "Damn that seems odd…"

Vcitus snorted. "You gave him the only thing he's wanted for the better part of a decade, Commander, closure."

Sidda swallowed. "I told Cal not to tell him," she admitted. "I wasn't sure what he'd do and I can't afford to lose Mordin."

He loved her honesty. He would have hesitated telling him too. "I'll help you with the derelict Reaper. Let me know when and where." He wanted to apologize to her for his behavior but saw the marks on her neck and got angry again. "Excuse me," he said but then turned back to her. "No one from this ship goes anywhere near the _Lante_ without an escort."

 _"Still being an ass,"_ she thought. "What's the matter, Adrien, you don't trust me?"

He thought over the answer to that, he trusted her…not Cerberus. "Commander." He said simply and exited the Comm Room.

She let out another long tired sigh. How did things go so wrong between them? It was the only question she had but at least now she had some backup with the IFF. The IFF that she really needed to procure before something else went wrong. "EDI, I'm going to bed. If anyone wants me have them talk to Miranda or Garrus…whoever they prefer."

 _"Understood, Commander."_ The AI replied.

**

Stepping into her quarters to see Cerrus sitting on her couch was a bit odd and she wasn't sure how to proceed. The uncertainty was clearly evident on her face because he immediately stood. "I apologize for the intrusion, Commander," he said quietly. "I wanted to apologize for my behavior, my intention was not to hurt anyone."

Sidda didn't blame him for any of this. She was sorry about not wanting to tell him…something she actually felt guilty for. "You don't have anything to apologize for, Cerrus, I think Isla will forgive you, given the situation."

The Sentinel was someone he still needed to personally apologize to. She'd been very kind to him and he returned it with a very hard whack to the face. "That's no excuse."

Cerrus had changed so very much since the first time she'd met him. She remembered the look he gave her on the _Lante_ when Maridus took her on the tour. Remembered the world class beating they gave each other when their differences finally came to a head. She also remembered how helpful he was in tracking Saren. He had come a very long way. "You want a drink?" she asked and Cerrus nodded sharply looking extremely tense.

He watched her retrieve a bottle and two glasses from the cabinet by the locker. "You keep Brandy?" he asked.

Sidda had acquired a taste for it but it took some getting used to. To her it tasted like honey and hit harder than Absinthe. "Never know when I'll need to share a drink with a grump," she smiled and he took the glass offered to him.

"Funny," he replied and he sniffed the contents of the glass. Brandy wasn't his favorite but it was still a familiar aroma. "I also wanted to thank you."

Sidda took a sip of her drink and tried to decide how to act. He didn't know how to act casually with her, all the time they spent berating and beating the hell out of each other made them walk on eggshells in each other's presence. He stood so she did as well. "I know you appreciate honesty," she began and he remained silent. "I didn't want to tell you, I didn't know what you'd do."

He was quiet for a few moments and took a drink of the Brandy before speaking. "Suppose I deserve that," he said, knowing that he wasn't the easiest person to get along with. He had a vicious temper and was a little scary at times.

"I told Cal not to tell you but he doesn't listen to anyone, least of all me," she continued, very surprised with the civil conversation.

Nov was a better friend then he gave him credit for. When Cerrus came onto the _Lante_ everyone who didn't blame him outright for his failure as an officer wanted to be his friend, Nov was the junior officer who tried harder than anyone else and managed to succeed. "I do appreciate the honesty, Commander."

She sighed and he took another drink of the Brandy but didn't finish off the glass. "I also got a visit from Victus," she added, beginning to wander the cabin a bit. "You tried to resign."

Key word was 'tried'. Victus had to accept it to be official as he was the commanding officer. He had other avenues if Victus refused to accept it, but he'd need to report to Palaven Command to do that and right now he'd just as soon firebomb it. "I still will resign whether he likes it or not," he snarled before quelling his irritability. "I've served since I was 15, Commander, every member of my family has served. My mother was senior NCO at the academy. She was there when me and my brothers went through boot. Can you imagine being ordered to pick up the pace halfway through a 20K run after being up for 36 hours by your mother?" It was the first time she'd seen him be this personal with her.

"Sort of…my mother's an Admiral."

His mood returned to being serious. "I won't serve those who ordered a Priority Black hit on my mate and then lied to me about it for almost 10 years."

Sidda couldn't blame him but she told Victus she'd talk to him. Desertion was a heavy charge, and aside from the Blackwatch Incident, he'd never run away from anything in his life that she was aware of. "We have our differences, a lot of them, but allow me to give you some advice: trust Adrien." Cerrus merely looked at her waiting for her to finish. "If he'd known he would have told you. If he didn't accept your resignation he has a reason for it."

"Do you still love him?" he asked and knew immediately that the question should never have been asked. He was still curious on the answer, however. He saw what her death had done to Victus but he didn't see what her death had done to her. Sidda blinked and Cerrus took the hint. "Forget I asked that."

"I appreciate that," she chuckled, not having a clear answer for him anyway. Despite his rather childish behavior lately, there was still something between them.

Cerrus found time to end the conversation and finished off the drink setting the glass down. "Again, thank you, Commander," he said extending his hand to her. "Anything you need you just ask." The decision on whether or not to trust Victus was still up in the air but he'd stay on the _Normandy_ if she accepted him.

She shook his hand and appreciated his gesture, they'd never be friends like she was with Maridus but this was a step. "Could use some help with the derelict Reaper," she said after they released from the handshake. "Here's the intel on it. Can you get me a plan?"

"Count on it." He nodded and left her quarters.

They were still docked with the _Lante_ , but like Victus' order that people weren't allowed on board without an escort, no one was allowed on the _Normandy_ without permission. He held the pad in his right hand and looked for a place to work. Sidda gave him exactly what he needed, something to keep his mind occupied and planning an op was perfect.

"Major." A voice called pulling his attention. It was Garrus and he hesitated, from what he understood Isla was his and he'd hurt her. This wasn't going to be a friendly conversation, Garrus was a hot head. "First, let me say that I heard about what happened and I'm sorry. Those in Special Forces have all taken part in a mission like that at some point, and when we do carry one out, the training teaches us to compartmentalize it, but there's a person and a family behind the one that we execute. That was my flaw…the compartmentalization." Cerrus listened, there was more to this beside the confession and shared experience. Garrus didn't handle it well and Cerrus came to the startling realization that he never struggled with it, all the people he'd killed on missions…he never struggled with any of it. Maybe he was just a killer. "I'm sorry for what happened to your mate."

"Thank you," he replied, but Garrus wasn't done. He'd said 'first'.

"Second, all that aside, let me say this: if you hurt Isla again, that weapon of mine you like so much will be what kills you." Garrus informed, and Cerrus quelled any response he may have had.

"I understand," he replied. "And I apologize."

Garrus glared at him. "Don't apologize to me, apologize to her…you nearly broke her nose."

Cerrus wasn't used to what he was feeling. He kept things to himself, he thought things through, most of the time, and didn't apologize for it later. This time he acted rashly and hurt someone who didn't deserved it.

There were more Cerberus guards out and about now and when Cerrus approached the Weapons Lab they side-eyed him. "Is Isla in there?" he asked one of the guards barring his entrance and the other nodded. "I'd like to speak with her."

After a moment he was allowed to enter and Cerrus found Isla working on her armor. It was painted up like the Blue Suns and Cerrus remembered Tali telling him that she was a former Blue Suns mercenary, she'd changed sides to help Garrus escape Omega. She glanced over at him briefly then returned to what she was doing.

"What can I do for you, Major," she asked and he was able to see the bruising on her face.

"I want to apologize. There is no excuse," he said and she stood from her squatted position but still focused on the armor.

"I've been hit harder," she replied casually. "Are you going to kill Mordin?"

Cerrus shook his head. "No."

"Why?"

He didn't know why she was asking and found himself inclined to give an honest answer. "I don't know. I don't think Anara would have wanted me to do it."

"Apology accepted," she told him.

**

Cerrus worked intently on the data that Sidda had given him. He used the Reaper data from EDI to study Sovereign's layout. There was a Cerberus lab ship docked with it that made it a safe place to dock and search for the IFF. There were logical places that the IFF would be but the Cerberus intel hinted that they'd already found it. He wasn't sure what they would find inside a Reaper and he began to sort out the squad size, firepower, and logistics. He looked over the dossiers for the _Normandy_ crew and formed his plan. One of the most intriguing files was 'Subject Zero' or Jack as she went by. She was the one he'd met in the subdeck. He kept reading through the files selecting those he felt would be best suited for the mission. Sidda had accumulated quite the crew, a broad spectrum of professional and bat shit crazy. Mercs, soldiers, vigilantes, cops, murderers…she had them all. He leaned back in the chair and sighed unclear of the time and took a drink of the coffee Tali had brought him.

The next morning he had Sidda and Victus in the Comm Room. "I got it," he proclaimed and set the pad he had on the table. "At least I think I got it," he added after a brief pause. "I've never planned an op on a ship 99% of the galaxy doesn't believe exists."

"Believe me when I say I'd trust your plan over anyone else's," Sidda said and Cerrus paused touched by the compliment.

"Thank you, Commander," he replied and Victus' eyes flicked from one to the other. He flashed back to them in a roaring fight on the _Lante_ , they could hardly stand being in the same room as one another but now…it was very different. Cerrus had changed drastically, seemingly overnight.

"What do you have, Major?" Victus asked. He wanted to press him for getting back to the _Lante_ but he felt that it was best to just let it go for now.

"Pretty straight forward plan, I suggest we go in force though," he said. "If they've lost contact with the Cerberus team and Reaper ships are where Husks are made…"

"I agree," Sidda replied quickly following his train of thought.

"Who do you need?" Victus asked knowing that if Cerrus had him here for a plan he made for Sidda he wanted to use some of his personnel.

"Ruvvak and Maridus would probably be best," Cerrus answered. "Ruvvak's explosives are second to none and we could really use a Ghost." Maridus had to be one of Victus' most underrated soldiers relegated to the CIC for much of his time now, but the Colonel was an absolute badass on the battlefield. "Jack and Tali from the _Normandy_ , Nov too." His selection of Jack was odd but he selected those that would complement and balance the team.

"Alright…lets assemble," she said and they parted ways.

"Major," Victus said stopping Cerrus in his tracks with a hidden cringe, "have you come to any decisions lately?" he asked as the tall Turian faced him properly, the ingrained military propriety.

His question was intentionally vague but Cerrus understood. "No, Sir," he replied tightly.

That was not what he wanted to hear. Cerrus, despite his tumultuous past, was one the best and most reliable soldiers he'd ever worked with. His colossal mistake he'd paid for in full and he'd earned every award and promotion. "Tyr," he began, "whatever you decide I promise someone will answer for this."

He'd believe that when he saw it and Victus saw that before he even needed to say it. They'd lied to him for so long he was disillusion by it all. "General." He replied simply and left him there.

**

An hour later the Comm room was filling with the necessary personnel and some that weren't necessary. They couldn't take everyone but Cerrus planned contingences so just because they weren't currently on the mission doesn't mean they weren't slated for backup if everything went sideways.

"So it takes a request from her to get me out of the CIC," Maridus joked as he made his way into the Comm room behind his escort, Chambers. Maridus was a good executive officer, a natural leader, and a proved to be a good mediator between the General and the crew. He was also fairly reluctant to be stuck in the CIC while others did the work he ordered them to do.

"Actually, it was my request, Sir," Cerrus corrected.

That didn't help and Maridus shrugged. "Yeah…but after she gave you the mission."

"It ain't easy being promoted," Sidda said with a chuckle and Maridus folded his arms across his chest and stood next to Garrus. "For those of you who don't know, this is Col. Damar Maridus and Sgt. Linus Ruvvak of the _Lante_ ," she introduced. "They will be accompanying myself, Cerrus, Nov, Tali, and Jack over to the Reaper."

"We'll dock with the derelict Reaper and proceed inside. Tali, Nov, and Col. Maridus are the Tech experts and will lead us to the most likely location for the IFF and extract it. Mission is fairly simple: find the IFF and leave," Cerrus continued as the table presented a holo of the derelict Reaper. It honestly looked like a crustacean carcass.

"Why do I think it's not going to be that simple?" Ruvvak commented, with a ship that looked as creepy as that there was no way it was going to be that easy.

"Because if he has to plan it, you know it's a shit mission," Nov replied with a chuckle. That wasn't to say that Cerrus was bad at planning an op, whenever he planned an op he had an over 90% success rate, what Nov meant by that was that when Cerrus was asked to plan an op the objective was usually insane.

"If it's too rough for you, Cal, you can stay here…I'm sure between Tali and Damar we won't need you," Sidda teased with a giggle.

"Ouch," Nov laughed.

Everyone else was chuckling except Victus, this behavior did remind him of their friendship but now with the knowledge that they were lovers it angered him. He kept it to himself and seethed quietly and began to realize that he may have made a huge mistake.

"The biotic power between the Commander and Jack should be enough to manage whatever we find over there," Cerrus added trying to steer the conversation back on track.

"Garrus, you and Miranda will be on deck as backup in case something goes wrong," Sidda said and then looked to Victus who seemed to have collected himself from their previous encounters. He still looked a step below angry though. "And Adrien will be the _Normany's_ back up if things really go wrong."

The General gave a single nod but his eyes were trained on her. He could see the faint precision scars on her face from the cybernetics used to put her back together. He did find that he actually missed the shrapnel scars around her left eye. He'd never really paid too close of attention to them before, but now she looked so different without them. He saw the top of the same set of scratches on her neck he'd seen earlier and that snapped him from his observation. Someone else had done that…someone not him.

"Anyone who goes over there could be subject to indoctrination," Sidda explained. "Hopefully we won't be over there that long, but there's the disclaimer."

"Questions?" Cerrus asked and Ruvvak raised his hand.

"Loadout?" the demolitionist asked.

Cerrus snorted. "Bring your firepower, Sergeant."

Ruvvak gave a broad grin that could be seen whether you were Human or Turian. "Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir."

"You have all the firepower you need, Commander," Victus added, "two Havocs, a Saboteur, and a Ghost. Most Commanders don't need much more than that."

**

The approach to Mnemosyne was rough, rougher than they thought it would be. "What's with the chop, Joker?" Sidda asked.

"Winds are gusting at 500kph."

Inhospitable environment, if the Reaper survived this long in this they'd gotten luck with Sovereign. "Welcome to the failed star," she muttered.

"There's a ship alongside…not active but the LADAR paints the silhouette as Geth," he reported and Sidda steadied herself on his seatback.

"Geth? What the hell…"

"Guess we know why the research team stopped reporting in," he said sarcastically. The chop stilled and Joker informed them that the Reaper was still maintaining its mass effect core and that was the only thing keeping it from falling into the failed star.

The boarding party assembled at the airlock and Sidda sighed. "So we have an added attraction: there's a Geth ship alongside…reason unknown." She heard various groans from those who'd fought Geth and would prefer not to do it again. "Also, this thing has been maintaining its own mass effect field for who knows how long so let's try not to piss it off completely," Sidda said. "I don't really want to be a part of that brown dwarf."

"Any word from the research team?" Tali asked as she checked her shotgun again.

"Nothing. Cerberus isn't sure how long it's been dark," Sidda answered and Maridus voiced what they were all thinking.

"Yeah that's not a good sign. Even without a Geth ship being in mix now."

The _Normandy_ shook as the pilot managed to dock. "Contact, Commander." Joker reported over his shoulder to the group clogging up the passage from the cockpit to the CIC. There were so many armored Turians they dwarfed Sidda, Tali, and Jack. " _Lante_ is hanging back as instructed."

Sidda nodded and looked at the world through her Sentry Interface. "Cal, get the door please," she asked. "Ruvvak, Cerrus, on point."

As soon as they reached the main door to the lab the Reaper, though dead, raised a barrier, effectively cutting them off from their exit, so much for Cerrus' plan. The boarding party had no choice but to proceed further in and disengage the core before hot-footing it out to avoid being vaporized in the brown dwarf. The lab was abandoned. Any abandoned research lab was creepy anyway, but an abandoned lab on a dead Reaper was just worse on so many levels. "No bodies," Jack observed. "That's just fucking creepy."

"Cal. Tali. Check the files," Sidda ordered as Ruvvak and Cerrus took up cover positions, the act was second nature to them by this point in their lives. "Look for anything about that IFF."

"We don't even know where the fuck this thing is?" Jack questioned.

"We have an idea where it is but anything helps narrow the search," she explained. "And any intel on the Reapers is helpful too."

"Fuck me," Jack grumbled and Ruvvak chuckled.

"I like her, Commander," the big Turian grinned. Jack scoffed and Sidda snorted.

"Yeah you would, she's explosive just like you," she said. Maridus tapped a log which brought up unsettling things. There were more logs as they went along and it was clear Chandana's team was being indoctrinated. The Illusive Man was a fool once more by sending them here, Sovereign was dangerous and had indoctrinated Saren, a highly trained and strong willed Spectre and Matriarch Benezia, an even stronger minded individual.

"Sidda," Maridus began as they moved on through the ship, "your new boss is a bastard."

Maridus couldn't be more correct and Sidda snorted as they pressed on. It wasn't long before they were attacked by a horror Sidda prayed she'd never have to fight again: Husks. As they moved on toward the airlock to the Reaper itself Jack, Tali, and Sidda cursed when Scions appeared flanked by Husks.

"What in the blue fuck is that?" Ruvvak asked, while Sidda dove into cover with Jack.

"We're calling that a Scion," Sidda replied shortly, reloading her Mattock next to Nov. "Shockwave based weapon stay out of its way."

"Great," he replied sounding less than thrilled. He sure as hell wasn't going to step in its way.

At the top the stairwell was probably the most underrated weapon Sidda had on her team. Maridus quietly changed to his sniper rifle. Like Garrus, he remained old school when it came to his sniper rifle and his favorite weapon was his Haliat Equalizer. While Cerrus preferred Armax equipment, Maridus used Haliat and they were the last to upgrade to the use of thermal clips. Victus had ordered him to upgrade soon as that model of Equalizer was being phased out. The Scion was an enemy he'd never seen before but they all had the same weakness. Headshots. He cloaked, dropped to one knee, sited, and fired.

His sniper rifle didn't have the definitive 'bang' that Garrus' did but she heard the damn thing over the endless stream of Husks, shotgun fire, and shockwaves, as she and Jack went bowling, Reaper style. The nearest Scion's head vanished and it collapsed, crushing Tali's drone on the way down. He ducked back into cover and waited for his cloak to be available again. Cerrus and Ruvvak were in the middle of it all raising hell as only the Havocs could. Cerrus' cryo blast would set them up and Ruvvak's incinerate would blow them up. Tali and Jack were closer to him at the bottom of the steps on the other side handling everything perfectly but the Husks kept coming, crawling up and down from the walls. Sidda and Nov were trying their best to focus on the remaining Scion but Sidda was pretty much covering Nov since the Husks could easily overwhelm them. He activated his cloak again, took aim at the Scion, and fired. This one didn't drop on impact but it did stagger. A shockwave blast from its weapon hit him and his shields took the brunt of it but it did drop his cloak.

Jack roared her battle cry at the biggest enemy on the field and charged the Scion. The super biotic glowed the most vibrant, brilliant blue as she connected with the creature with the familiar sound of a biotic explosion. The Scion disintegrated and the Husks nearby practically blew up. Once the Scion fell the Husks stopped coming and they regrouped.

"Alright," Ruvvak began, "now I really like her. What's your name again?" he asked but Jack ignored him, thoroughly uninterested.

"Well done, Jack," Sidda praised but Jack straightened her jacket, glared at everyone, and walked away.

"Sid," Nov called. She looked over at what had his attention and her skin crawled. She had a flashback to Eden Prime, her first encounter with Husks, her first encounter with the abomination known as Reapers. Humans became Husks, they were impaled on giant spikes that made one think of Vlad the Impaler and turned into Husks. "Not a good sign," he finished. That seemed to be the phrase of the day.

"What is that?" Ruvvak asked as he saw the Dragon's Teeth.

"Dragon's Teeth," Tali answered with a tone that reflected the fact that she could have gone the rest of her life without seeing those again. "Don't get too close and don't touch anything."

Ruvvak was unfamiliar with the sinister contraption. "Dragon's Teeth?"

"Husks, Sergeant, that's how they make Husks," Nov explained and he looked up at the giant spikes with a grim feeling.

**

Leaving the very creepy alter or shrine dedicated to the Dragon's Teeth behind, Tali was able to bypass the security door and gain access to the Reaper itself. The benefit to having this be a Cerberus research space was that they had set up catwalks, consoles, supplies, and a host of other things that made it easier to navigate. Ruvvak remained on point with Sidda and Maridus behind him. Tali and Jack were in the middle and Cerrus and Nov brought up the rear.

"Sniper," Maridus said quickly, they watched a few precision shots from nowhere near their position take out two Husks before they got close to them.

"One of the researchers?" Tali suggested but even to her that didn't seem right.

"No way. You heard the lab recordings these people were going crazy," Nov replied.

"And they were turned into Husks," Jack added.

"The Geth?" Sidda brainstormed but the rest of the team shrugged. "You know for a 50,000 plus year old ship it certainly is a hot bed of activity."

Maridus tuned out their conversation and engaged the cloak stepping around the catwalk safely concealed by his tactical cloak. He sighted down the long chasm that the shot had to have come from but saw nothing through his scope. "Damar?" he heard Sidda ask.

"Clear," he replied quietly. "My bet is it's Geth, keep your eyes open."

Moving around in a Reaper was unsettling to say the least. The short amount of time she'd spent onboard aside, she felt like it was watching her. "This thing's dead and it's still a nightmare," she muttered and Nov saw her shudder like she was trying to shake its eyes off of her.

"You okay, Sid?" he asked quietly as they moved further though the ship to find the IFF.

"I…" she began and tried not to sound crazy, "just feels wrong. Let's go."

Nov could understand the feeling. He didn't like it either and was pretty sure the rest of the team felt the same way. Dr. Chandana and his team went insane and turned into Husks. The passage widened to a large platform with tanks of something marked with Cerberus' emblem. Water or fuel or something and Sidda gestured for the team to spread out. The bark of a sniper rifle and the sudden disappearance of a Husk who'd gotten far too close to Sidda without a damn sound, revealed the mystery sniper. On the upper platform a Geth stood, it had a piece of N7 armor on its chest.

"Shepard-Commander," the Geth said which stopped the entire team in their tracks and then it jumped off the platform vanishing from her sight.

The team was stunned…more than any of them had ever been. "Uhhh…" Ruvvak began, "the Geth just spoke." Geth didn't do that, they just chattered.

Sidda blinked. "Yeah…" she replied and started moving in direction of the IFF and the Core.

The team was just as bewildered as Ruvvak but all followed Sidda. "I mean the Geth just spoke doesn't that strike anybody else as odd?"

"Strikes me as downright unsettling," Sidda replied but focused on the mission at hand, "move out."

"I thought they couldn't speak," Cerrus asked Tali, the resident Geth expert.

"They're not supposed to," Tali told him. "They aren't any smarter than a Varren."

"It looked different than other Geth troopers though," Cerrus went on. He'd seen enough of them on the Citadel. "You notice that, Commander?"

"The antenna on its back?" she clarified. "Yeah, from what I remember the Troopers don't have that the Primes and Juggernauts do."

"Maybe that's why it can talk," Nov added.

"How about when we find it, we ask it," Maridus put in with a tone that reminded most of them of Victus' commanding officer tone. It ended the conversation but it wasn't that he was disinterested in the topic he'd just had enough of the chatter.

The team pressed forward and encountered more and more Husks and Scions. Cerrus has assembled a very good crew and they found the IFF. It was shockingly simple to acquire it after blasting through a few dozen Scions and Husks and between Nov and Tali it was extracted without issue. The question now was to get to the Reaper Core and disengage it.

**

The Core was easy enough to find and Sidda split the team. She left Cerrus, Tali, and Nov to guard the door as the rest moved on. They found the Core with the mysterious Geth futzing around the controls. Whatever it was doing caused the door to slam shut behind them and the Geth was overwhelmed by Husks that appeared from nowhere. Ruvvak and Maridus placed a few well-placed shots but they were effectively stuck in the core.

Outside Nov was less than thrilled. "Sidda!" he shouted shouldering his rifle then activating his Omni-tool.

"What happened, Nov?" Cerrus asked and Nov didn't have an answer.

"I don't know," Nov answered quickly focusing beyond the fact that Sidda was stuck on the other side of the wall with who knows what. "Tali, help me."

They scanned the walls with their Omni-tools looking from access panels to see if they could bypass it. "Get it open. Commander, Colonel, do you copy?"

 _"Yeah, we're here. The Geth manipulated the system…not sure what it did but we are stuck,"_ she replied over the comm.

"Shepard!" Jack warned as she readied her shotgun. Husks were climbing up the walls and down the walls to get to them in Core they were now trapped in. "Coming from the left."

"On the right too," Maridus added switching over to his Phaeston. "Sergeant."

No order needed to be voiced as Ruvvak took position on the left with Jack as he changed to his shotgun. Despite the situation they had a pretty even spread of talent.

 _"Sidda, hang in there. I'm trying to bypass the door now."_ She heard Nov say.

She cursed, there was no one she trusted more to mitigate the situation but it didn't mean she liked being trapped in box. "Damar?"

"Shit cover on both sides and these fuckers will overwhelm you," he assessed as the shooting commenced. Maridus engaged his tactical cloak and literally vanished from her side.

"Jack," she began but she didn't need to hear the rest of it.

"Yeah, yeah," she responded, it was their job to keep the biotics coming and cover the Ghost - when they could see him - and the Havoc from a distance.

Maridus was incredibly useful in this situation, rather than being the conventional sniper of 'snipe and relocate', Maridus was one of the most effective operative classes the Special Forces division ever produced. He alternated between using his weapon and the cryo blast and overload. When he used those in combination the Husks just blew up. On the left side of the room it sounded like a bomb went off when there was an explosive combination of Jack's biotics and Ruvvak's modified High Explosive grenades.

While the other three managed to entertain the seemingly endless stream of Husks Sidda took on the Core. There was more than one way to disable it and if none of them could get to the console she went with good old plan B. Hands down, the Mattock was the best rifle she'd ever used, while she focused on the task Maridus covered her. The Ghost decloaked next to her, his Omni-blade went through a Husk's head that had gotten way to close before cloaking again, and presumably, went back down to the right to engage them directly.

Jack's shockwave was nearly nonstop and Ruvvak's carnage was same. Sidda received some help from two grenades that hit the core back to back thrown by the demolitionist. She spent all round with the Mattock but the core failed, and when it finally did explode the concussion from the blast caused them all to be knocked back in some fashion. After the core exploded the ship rocked and the door that had shut opened.

"Everyone okay?" Cerrus asked in a raised tone. Ruvvak was on one knee. Husks had mauled him but Jack was there to back him up and managed to clear them from him. The right side of his face had a deep gash but he'd survive. "Linus?"

"I'm alright, Sir," he replied with a pained grimace before shakily getting to his feet. It had been a hard fight. "Thanks," he said to Jack.

"Don't mention it," she replied and he was pretty sure she meant that literally.

"We have to go, People, the Core is offline and this brown dwarf will vaporize us," Maridus said as he tapped the disabled Geth with his foot. "What do we do with this?"

"Leave it," Tali said quickly.

"Are you kidding?" Nov asked. "It's an intact Geth. You've said no one's ever been this close to one without being shot at."

"It's too dangerous," Tali replied sharply.

"Commander, I recommend you take it with you," Cerrus put in and got an agreement from Maridus. "It's behavior is certainly worth investigating."

Sidda nodded, she had a similar opinion of the matter. "Cerrus, Cal, grab that thing and let's go. _Normandy_ , we need a pick up," she called into the comm but the response wasn't from Joker.

 _"This is Lante, Commander, on our way in."_ Victus answered. _"There's a ripped out section of the hull near your position. We will meet you there."_

"Copy." That wasn't part of the plan but there had to be a reason why he took it instead of the _Normandy_. In the end the pickup wasn't her call. The Turian frigate appeared by the torn out section of the hull, the perfect pickup site with its port side airlock open.

Cerrus and Nov went first with the disable Geth and landed safely in the airlock. Kalvaris, Desala, and Victus himself helped move the unique Geth. Nov and Cerrus provide long range aid.

Tali was next to leap. "Tali," Maridus ordered slapping her arm. The Quarian complied and made her running leap to the _Lante_. Jack and Ruvvak were still mixing it up keeping the enemy busy. "Go, Sid, I got them."

Maridus gave an order and Sidda followed it, trusting Maridus, and then landed in the _Lante's_ airlock stumbling into the line of helpers.

"Colonel!" Maridus heard Ruvvak yell, he and Jack were close to being overwhelmed. They couldn't just cut and run at the moment. The Reaper jolted hard and knocked Jack off her feet…that's when it started to go bad. Ruvvak stepped up and covered her, even going hand to hand with some of the Husks. "Gotta be a finite number of these fuckers!" he bitched and he crushed the head of a husk with his foot.

Maridus reached down and grabbed Jack's arm to pull her to her feet. "Fall back, Sergeant!" he ordered and the demolitionist complied though he left a parting gift in the form of a grenade or two.

Maridus and Jack didn't land very well. They crashed into Ruvvak who wound up catching Jack, and Maridus nearly did a face plant into the deck had it not been for him practically landing on Cerrus and Desala. "Zara, go!" Victus ordered loudly. The frigate launched away from the rapidly descending wreck.

**

The Geth was the greatest tourist attraction Sidda had ever acquired. Of course, Miranda wanted to study it and never activate it again unless it benefitted Cerberus, Tali warned against waking because it could network and over power EDI then they'd all be screwed. EDI was intrigued and Victus made another trip over to have look himself.

"That," he began keeping his eyes on the Geth lying behind a mass effect barrier in the AI core, "is one hell of a souvenir, Commander."

Sidda chuckled. Nov scanned it thoroughly a half dozen times with his omni-tool. Tali also examined it and EDI had run about hundred scans of her own. "Wow," Nov muttered. "Last time I was this close to a Geth it was trying to eat me after the boarding party breached the _Lante_."

Tali giggled at his humor. "A fully intact, disabled Geth…Keelah, it is amazing."

"Alright, EDI, let us out," Nov ordered and the barrier dropped then went back up again as soon as they were cleared.

"Are you going to reactivate it?" Victus asked practically ignoring Nov's presence.

"What do you think?" she replied with a grin. A grin that made Victus chuckle, he knew the answer before he even asked it.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," he replied. Nov glowered a little, why were they getting along all of the sudden?

"EDI?" she inquired.

 _"In time, Commander, allow me to complete my analysis."_ She replied and Sidda nodded.

"It has a piece of N7 armor on its chest, Sid, did you see that?" Nov asked as they proceeded out of the AI Core leaving EDI and four Cerberus guards hanging out to keep an eye on their disabled guest.

Sidda had, she'd seen it when the Husks disabled it, and it felt very uncomfortable. "Yeah, and it has a giant hole in it," she replied. "Odd choice for a field repair."

"Well it did talk so let's assume this isn't a conventional Geth Trooper," Nov explained.

"Agreed," Victus replied tightly. "I suggest caution in reactivating it. I could stick around for a while if you like."

Victus' mood was a 180 degree change from how he was earlier. He was focused on a mission and ignoring the fact that Nov was present. "I appreciate that," she smiled. Nov bristled but she'd whacked him once to get her point across about jealously so he kept it to himself. "How's Linus?"

"Superficial. Holum says he'll be okay," Victus answered. "If you want me to stay let me know," he added and excused himself.

**

Mordin made sure to steer clear of Cerrus while he was onboard. Cerrus hadn't made any kind of retaliation, and to be honest, if he was going to kill him he would have done it by now. Nov occupied a table in the Tech Lab and was working with EDI on their guest in the AI Core. Tali was in engineering working on the same thing. When Sidda entered she noticed Mordin gone from his station, one of the rare times he was either sleeping or eating, and Nov studying the data in front of him intently.

"How's it going?" she asked trying to eliminate her own frustration after arguing with Miranda on how best to handle the Geth.

"We're good," he replied. "Should be able to reactivate it, Tali's working on it too in engineering."

"What's your take it?"

"Tali and EDI both agree it's not normal but I think that since it spoke…we already knew that," he said and she chuckled. "Are you okay? With Victus I mean?"

"Oh, don't start, Cal-…"

"Oh, no, no, no. Thane is one thing and I get that he is something completely different. I noticed that you two were actually getting along down there."

"Cal, stop. I am with you, Callus Nov, not him. You," she reiterated firmly.

Thane told him flat out that there was nothing between them except a close bond. Victus, the bastard, broke her heart but he knew Victus still loved her. That kind of love died a slow and agonizing death; Victus was a threat if he changed his mind. His possessive jealousy was hard to quell but he trusted Sidda, just not Victus. He opened his mouth to keep the argument going but they were interrupted by EDI.

 _"Commander, I have completed my analysis. If you wish to reactivate the Geth I believe it can be done so safely."_ The AI reported and Nov bottled the argument that he wasn't going to win anyway.

"Thank you, EDI," she replied. "Come on. I want you there too incase it tries anything. I know you have something in that bag of tricks to disable it if needed."

"I do indeed."

"Adrien," she began as she keyed her Omni-tool, "we're about to reactive the Geth if your offer of back up still stands."

Nov gave her a reproachful look. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Oh, you know, you really need to seek some help," she fired back, annoyed with him now. She stopped sharply and pulled the collar of her shirt down. "You gave me these, not him, so knock it off. He offered his help and I'll use it."

"Well, forgive me if I'm uncomfortable with him being around so much."

"Deal. With. It," she said in a firm and clear tone. "If I wanted him I wouldn't be with you. End of discussion."

In the AI Core, Sidda was armed, Nov was armed and even Victus had a weapon. Nov took Sidda's words to heart for now and put the issues he had with Victus in the back of his mind. Sidda had instructed him to reactivate it and after a few minutes of work the mech flickered to life, sat up, then stood up. The N7 breastplate had a hole in it and also seemed to be feminine despite its contorted appearance.

It stood quietly behind the mass effect barrier and there was a silence for a moment. "Can you understand me?" she asked clearly.

"Yes," it replied simply.

"Are you going to attack?"

"No."

Sidda admitted that this was strangest conversation she'd ever had and that included chatting with Vigil and Sovereign. "You called me by name on the Reaper. How did you know it?"

"We know of you," the Geth answered and seemed to be studying them as they were studying it.

Its response didn't really answer her question. "You mean you know my reputation against the Geth."

"We are all Geth and we have not met you," it said and copied her stance. "You are Siddalee Shepard. Commander. Alliance. Human. Fought Heretics. Killed by Collectors and rediscovered on the Old Machine."

"Old Machine?" Nov asked and the Geth turned its attention to him. "The Reaper?"

"Callus Nov. Captain. Turian Special Forces," it said seeming like it was processing data. "Reaper. A superstitious term originating with the Protheans, we called those entities 'Old Machines'."

"What are Heretics?" the other Turian asked and the Geth repeated what it had done for Nov.

"Adrien Victus. General. Turian Special Forces," it rattled off in the same manner and Nov and Victus exchanged unsettled looks. "Geth build their future. Heretics asked the Old Machine for theirs, they are no longer a part of us."

"They went their own way. Sided with Sovereign," Victus clarified quickly.

"Yes."

"Are the Reapers a threat to you as well?" Sidda asked.

"Yes."

As Sidda continued to question it both Nov and Victus studied the Geth, it was a day of oddities, but this took the cake. The Geth was talking. Ruvvak was right to be a bit unsettled about that. As it spoke to her it mimicked her, every shift in her weight, pace, and fidget, the Geth copied it. Strange behavior indeed for the machine. Victus was watching the same and the guys were both surprised at Sidda's bid to assemble the craziest crew in existence. She shook hands with the thing, now known as Legion, a name suggested to it by EDI from an Earth religion.

They left that meeting knowing that the woman they both loved could recruit anyone into anything for any reason. She was a charmer, even to the Geth apparently.

"Did you just recruit a Geth to fight the Collectors?" Victus asked even though he'd just witnessed it all.

"Yes, I did."

"How about the next time you have a chat with it you find out why it has a piece of N7 armor stuck to its chest," Nov said and Sidda nodded. It was disturbing for her as well as it had a striking familiarity to it.

"Believe me, I will," she agreed and stopped walking turning to Nov. "Can you give us a minute please." Nov was reluctant to comply and his body language showed it. When he left she didn't bother to explain his behavior to Victus, the General already understood it. "Have you talked to Cerrus?"

"Not yet," he replied. "I was intending to find him now."

Sidda wasn't sure what his decision was going to be but she was pretty sure that having him onboard would be a blessing for about a minute then a curse as he'd wreck Cerberus from the inside out. It would actually be amusing, to a point. "Thanks for the help, Adrien," she said after a moment and extended her hand to him. "Honestly."

Victus slowly took her hand in a firm handshake. "All you ever need to do is ask…Sidda," he replied in a gentle tone but he actually used her first name instead of distancing himself by using her rank. "For anything," he said and left to track down Cerrus.

**

Cerrus' plan didn't go as well as he had anticipated, but as Sidda had told him and everyone else had ever trained him told him: no plan survives contact with the enemy. The mission had been accomplished despite the hitches and Sidda had gotten what was needed. "Major," Victus announced when he found his wayward officer on the port observation deck of the _Normandy_. He wanted an answer and Cerrus knew it.

"Sir," Cerrus greeted but remained seated.

Pushing Cerrus was like wrestling an animal constantly trying to bite you. "When you first came to my attention everyone told me that you were a failure as an officer, 'driven by your emotions and unstable'," he explained and moved to the window to look at his pretty frigate docked with the smaller ship. "We've all made mistakes and that's what I told them, I used my rank and reputation to get you assigned to me. You were very…difficult at the beginning, but next to Maridus, you're the best officer I've ever served with regardless of your short-comings," he said. Cerrus remained silent. "I know you're angry and you have every right to be but I don't want to lose you because of them. I've already lost two excellent officers this year."

Nov he lost to the Spectres, technically speaking before everything blew up between them, and then Rajin before that to a request she made for reassignment. Cerrus had been weighing his options; Victus was fighting for him to stay in so he thought about what he would do if he wasn't in the military. Mercenary sprang to mind but he didn't want to do that and working on the _Normandy_ would be temporary because he would die before working for Cerberus directly. He'd also made a hell of a mess with the Quarians too so that probably wouldn't work either. He was prone to rash decisions and sighed heavily.

Cerrus was still trying to reconcile it all. "I understand missions," he began, knowing that he was going to have to figure this out soon. "I know how it goes, I know the drill. I've done horrible things to protect my people and because I've been ordered to. How can I serve them?"

There was no good answer for that. "Serve me, Major, I will get answers for you but I think leaving the military over this is a mistake and I think you know it too." It was an honest observation.

Serving Victus was serving them but he was right about it. The military was all he knew and he honestly had no idea what he would do as a civilian. Cerrus stood and there was a long pause before it came to his decision. "Yes, Sir." Victus cocked his head, unclear on what he meant by that. "I will stay in for now but know this, Sir, that if I don't get an explanation in a timely manner I will resign and find my answers my own way."

Victus accepted that, he'd get answers from the Primarch one way other another. "Understood. Report back the _Lante_ , Major,we leave in an hour." Victus left Cerrus on the observation deck, passing Tali on the way out.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is greatly appreciated so by all means let it come.


End file.
